A merlot worth drinking? Jardim do Bomfim 2006

Merlot is one of those names that always makes me cringe when it comes to wine. The field, on my admittedly narrow experience, was littered with gutless and somehow odd tasting wines. But I have enjoyed the Jardim do Bomfim merlot previously, and at only $10 a bottle at Get Wines Direct it represents very good value. This is the Philip White review they are using to help flog the 2006 vintage: This is heavyweight wine, which true Merlot should be: more flesh and muscle and soul than the gaunt Cabernet, but never, ever as dumb and dim as mellow, which I think the Americans mistake for Merlot. This aroma is complex, yet more immediately perfumed and alluring than Shiraz, with all those plush, soft aromas melding nicely with the edgy iron filings and slaty dry tannins. Sure, this is perhaps more mellow than the JdoB Cabernet and Shiraz wines, but it's probably also more complex, and may well out live them. It'll cellar very, very well, but oozes itself in quite tidily now, sawing all the odd rib ends off, but filling the new hull with beautiful restorative flesh as she goes. It should become a promising, hyper-fit sensual beauty, given the usual attention to bottling detail. Ten years plus. A Passion for Wine blog had this to say about the 2004: Quite a deep purple colour. Concentrated black plum and morello cherries on the nose, quite piercing which suggests this merlot isn't your typical barstardised corporate 50% H20 Merlot. Strikes the palate with aforementioned fruit flavours and a lick of spice. Medium bodied with soft tannins and some fresh acidity. The fruit bounces around in your mouth, interchanging with a subtle spicyness and just a slight nuance of French oak. Balanced. Lovely stuff. Though not exceptionally big, I would say this merlot has some guts to it and all the better for it. Wish the other big guns would listen to what real wine lovers want. No words need to be the said about the value of this wine.

Posted via email from Garth's posterous