Quality of Merlot

[lucky7114]

I would like to purchase a bottle of Merlot for someone who knows about wine. What would be an excellent choice?

[Innkeeper]

Hi Lucky, and welcome to the Wine Board. Here you go: 1998 Azienda Agricola Borgo Tintor, Bortoluzzi, Isonzo Del Friuli D.O.C., Merlot.

[lucky7114]

[quote]Originally posted by Innkeeper:
[b]Hi Lucky, and welcome to the Wine Board. Here you go: 1998 Azienda Agricola Borgo Tintor, Bortoluzzi, Isonzo Del Friuli D.O.C., Merlot.[/b][/quote]

Thank you for your response. About how much are these wines?

[Innkeeper]

$16.00, comparable to American Merlots costing up to $30.00.

[This message has been edited by Innkeeper (edited 04-30-2001).]

[winoweenie]

Hi there Lucky # and welcome. If your friend is really special to you and you're looking to impress him/her, you could get a St. Francis @ 25, A Duckhorn @ 30, or to really put it on, a Matanzas Creek at 45 bucks. All made in the good ole' USofA. WW

[newsguy]

lucky,

if you hang around this board you'll quickly learn that innkeeper and WW really know their stuff (as do most of the regulars here).

as someone who's really just learning the ropes, i can offer a suggestion for two wines that are in that lower price range but probably a lot easier to find than the italian wine innkeeper mentioned and less expensive than those WW offered. i've found that 1997 markham napa valley is an excellent merlot that is readily available for about $19-20. big nose and taste of fruit and is ready to drink now (although it could probably age another 5-7 years i'd guess).

the other is the 97 casa lapostolle alexandre cuvee merlot, also costs about $20. while the markham is a fruit bomb, this is as heavy duty, knife-and-fork type merlot as any i've ever had. a dark, intense wine that definitely could use a few years of aging to mellow a bit. but i'm sure it would be worth the wait.

good luck with your purchase.