2001 Frei Brothers Dry Creek Valley Reserve Merlot

[dananne]

I wanted to sit on this one a bit longer, but it was a gift from my father who was in town over the weekend, so I opened it. Decanted 30 minutes before pouring. Dark reddish-purple in color, with aromas of dark berries and vanilla.

Velvet texture shows dark fruits, particularly jammy blueberries and blackberries. Held together with a tannic structure that begins to soften with airing. The finish shows off vanilla and some baker's cocoa. Not a bad one at all. Drinking it, however, means that I'm down to one Merlot in the cellar. We drank it with grilled fare -- Anne had a steak, and I had a veggie burger. Alc. 13.8%. Again, it was a gift bottle, but should run from $20-25. FWIW, WS 87 (said drink to '07) and WE 85 (said cellar a bit).