Marques de Casa Concha Merlot 2012 (Chile)

Nose:  Quite powerful, very big, heavy on the oak, with some dark berries to it.

Taste:  Big flavour, a bit tart in the beginning, and the oakiness carries through.  Big in the fruit as well, but mitigated by the oak and tannins.

Finish:  A bit tart in the finish as well with medium tannins.

What we say:  S - 'Slight hint of pencil crayon... No, wait... It's pretty much the only thing I smell.'  'I'm going to guess from the nose that this is slightly more on the sweeter side.'  V - 'It's a pile of oak, with an aside of dark berries.'  S - 'It's like thick cherry oak, like syrup.  Not in the sense of sweetness though.'  V - 'Yeah, there's nothing subtle about this whatsoever.  If it wasn't for the oakiness this would be fruit-bomb territory, but the oak keeps it down'

What they say:  It abounds in dark fruit aromas that fit perfectly with the generous barrel-supplied vanilla and chocolate notes.  Full-bodied it is a wine of supple, velvety tannins.

Rating:  7

Price: kr. 109

Burra Brook Merlot 2010 (Australia)

Nose:  Medium nose, slightly oaky.  Not really sweet enough to be berries.

Taste:  Like red wine - seriously generic, but drinkable.

Finish:  Lingering and slightly bitter.

What we say:  S - "Raisins?  I think I smell raisins" "I can almost taste the water in it, and then the bitterness kicks in, and that's it"  V - "It's pretty underwhelming given the other wines we've drank recently"

What they say:  Flavours of red fruit and peppery, smokey notes.

Rating:  4.5 (S - 4; V - 5)

Canyon Creek Merlot 2010 (USA)

Nose:  Definitely not oaky, more on the berry side of things.  Cherries/blackberries?

Taste:  Unremarkable.

Finish:  Bitter in the finish, almost sour.





What we say:  V- "It smells like a dessert." "It doesn't have any distinguishable taste to it. It just tastes like a standard tannin-y red, almost like what they would serve at Communion."

What they say:  Hints of vanilla, aromas of black cherry, vanilla and pepper.  Taste of blackberries and blueberries.

Rating:  3.5 (S - 3; V - 4)