2 winners: 01 marquis phillips and 99 stonegate

[newsguy]

took two bottles of merlot to thanksgiving dinner at a friend's and both were a hit with the turkey. popped the 01 marquis phillips ($13.99) first. dark purplish/ruby color and a nose that seemed reminiscent of shiraz to me: blueberries and vanilla. but as soon as this went into the mouth its silky feel told me this sure wasn't shiraz. blueberries and vanilla still dominated, with some other dark fruits and even a bit of mocha. good finish and absolutely ready to drink now. a bargain at the price. (RP gave it a 90).

next we opened the 99 stonegate napa valley ($15.99). deep ruby color. taste of cherries and chocolate really came on as the wine got more air time. nice mouthfeel and quite a bit of tannins. wasn't able to decant, but pulled cork about two hours before serving. we drank most of the bottle and i poured a half glass and let that sit for an hour as we tried to walk off our food. came back and the wine had really opened up. nose and tastes of cherries and chocolate were much more pronounced, other fruits added to the mix. mouthfeel was more complex and finish lenthened. very nice wine that will improve for another 2 years or so. if drinking now, i'd say decant for at least an hour. (WE rated it a 91). will buy more of both.

[Drew]

The Marquis-Phillips line is all impressive which accounts for the lack of availability in this area. I have a case of the Sarah's blend and it's truly a wonderful wine. Glad to hear the '99 Stonegate Napa is good...I have a couple of the '97's but will let them sleep a few years more.

Drew

[Innkeeper]

All goes to prove what I've saying all along; there are a FEW decent merlots around! Will look for the Marquis Phillips.

[newsguy]

my regular wine shop loaded up heavy on several marquis phillips wines (shiraz, cab, sarah's blend, merlot, chardonnay and some of their higher end bottlings). when i heard the sparky and the mrs. were making wines at this price point, i went in and got a bottle of the shiraz and the cab. as soon as i tried the shiraz i went back and bought a case. but when RP's ratings came out on these babies, hundreds of cases flew out of the shop in days. they sold out of everything but the merlot and the chard, and i went back and grabbed a bottle of the merlot. they got another very small shipment of the shiraz in, and they held six bottles for me. (didn't even put the stuff on the shelves, just alerted a few customers that they had gotten a little more). so, i have 18 bottles of the shiraz and hope to get a case of the merlot on the way home tonight.

on the stonegate, drew, holding that 97 a little longer is probably a good idea. i remember when i popped the only bottle i had of the stonegate 97 cab a few months back, it was drinking beautifully (still had tannins though) and i tried in vain to find more. their 99 merlot has plenty of tannins and i'd guess could go five in the cellar.

[This message has been edited by newsguy (edited 12-06-2002).]

[wondersofwine]

I understand the 2001 vintage in Australia is so rich that Henry's Drive will have reserve cabernet sauvignon only--no cheaper bottling. I put in for two bottles of the Henry's Drive and two bottles of Parson's Flat (shiraz-cabernet blend). May order more in the new year if still available.