Markham Merlot a delicious wine at half the price it was
One of the clear signs of a recession is the discounting of otherwise fairly expensive bottles of wine. This Markham Merlot is usually found for about $40, but I found this classic Napa Valley Merlot at just less than $20.
This is for the legendary 2001 vintage no less, so it's really a deal.
Markham is a serious brand marketed by Paterno Wine from Chicago. It owns several top estates in California, but since merlot was so reviled in the hit movie "Sideways," it has not fully recovered in the market, even though it used to be the top selling red wine.
The general wine-drinking public should love merlot, because it is much more fruit-forward and approachable than its "brother" wine, the cabernet sauvignon.
In the glass, Markham Merlot Reserve is a deep blackish ruby red, with streaks of garnet going out into a mature-looking, deep velvet-red color with opacity and deeply colored meniscus, then high viscosity.
On the nose, there is a really classic to Bordeaux merlot berry concentrate with dominance by crushed Maine blueberries, blackberries and then sloe fruit, elderberry juice and integrated oak references.
In the mouth, the wine oozes class with lovely balanced and concentrated crushed black fruit, creme de cassis and boysenberry, followed by a smooth tannin structure through the midpalate and a finish that easily compares with wines that cost three times as much.
Markham Merlot Reserve is a wine that will reach its peak from now through 2010, but should easily drink until 2015, based on its high relative quality. Try it with a tri-tip, grilled slowly to perfection. This wine is highly recommended.
I hope there will be other such delicious deals in the making, based on the slowing economy.
Wine: Markham Napa Valley Merlot Reserve
Grape: Merlot (93 percent), cabernet sauvignon (7 percent)
Region: Napa Valley, Calif.
Vintage: 2001
Price: $19.99
Gil Lempert-Schwarz's wine column appears Wednesdays. Write him at P.O. Box 50749, Henderson, NV 89016-0749, or e-mail him at gil@winevegas.com.
