Question about Merlots

[Innkeeper]

Hi Roy and welcome to the Wine Board. Those air pumps don't work very well. Also wines vary in lasting power by type as well as by producer. In her book (2004 Wine Buying Guide for Everyone), Immer rates the the lasting power of widely distributed wines as WOW refers to. She evaluates reds on how they hold by recorking and leving on the kitchen counter. Refrigerating would improve the lasting as WOW also states. Immer's Average rating means a "one day wine"; B holds 2-3 days; B+ gets better over 2-3 days; A has a 3-4 day freshness window; and A+ holds and gets better over 3-4 days.

The merlots she rates vary from Average to A. Average merlots include Bogle and Blackstone, two of my favorites; and A's go to Frog's Leap and Gallo of Sonoma. The Gallo sells for about the same price as the Bogle and Blackstone. So you can see that neither grape type nor price determines the holding power of a wine.

Unopened merlot has holding power determined by quality. Primarily merlot wines from the East Bank of the Garonne (St Emilion and Pomerol)in Bordeaux will hold for ten years or more. So will a handful of expensive ones from California, e.g. Duckhorn. Most lower priced (under $20) from Europe, U.S., or the Southern Hemisphere have lifespans of five years or less.