Superb in more ways than wine descriptors allow. Not tame, too sweet or chalky. Immensely likeable. Licorice, pepper on the palate with a cool and lingering cherry vanilla finish. A magnificent mouthful. Decanted a dream.
Up in BC we like to revel in how far our wine industry has come (from Andres screw tops to Osoyoos LaRose) and how mature and diverse the viniculture is. It’s true. Long way baby, Virginia Slims long way. Bang a drum. Sing the anthem. But here in the land of reality (i.e., after-tax income), as we slowly sample bottle after bottle of brilliant Washington State wine, at a fraction of the CDN price, it makes a mockery of the provincial hoopla.
Price: $22 USD.
Market Liquidity: Source it if you can.
2 responses to “Basel Cellars Merlot, Pheasant Run Vineyards, 2009”
[…] A couple of samples along the way include the astounding Walter Clore and the more than enviable Basel Cellars. This doesn’t hold a candle to either—yet both were grown just down the road, in the […]
[…] A crowd pleaser. Not as complex as the reviews might indicate, or the boasts of the vineyard with all sorts of layers and flavours and aromas (on the palate, it flattens out considerably), but definitely supple and soft enough to sip through a whole bottle without noticing the “just shy of” 14% alcohol. I guess with whites everyone knows a Chardonnay and with reds everyone knows a Merlot, and this is all Merlot, so what did I expect, except I guess the same sort of thing that knocks your socks off when you have a striking New World Chardonnay from Ridge or Qupé. Cheaper and better than the oft-coveted Burrowing Owl but, as with many wines south in WA, pales in comparison to Basel Cellars. […]