More Evidence That Price Is Not Necessarily Related To Quality

I read an article in the Weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal recently that reviewed Merlots from California in the $20 to $50 price range. The conclusion was that most of the wines were mediocre at best! Fifty dollar wines!! These evaluations were done by professional tasters, so their opinions have credence.

This is the just more evidence of what I have been saying for a long time: In the wine world, price is not necessarily related to quality. You can pay a lot of money for a run-of-the-mill wine, and you can find some real gems for a relative pittance. Many producers seem to think that the wine consumer is too stupid to know the difference when they slap a fifty dollar price tag on an ordinary wine.

Now about Merlot, it is important to keep in mind that it has traditionally been used as one of the wines in the classic Bordeaux blend, along with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec. The relative proportions of the blend vary from producer to producer in Bordeaux, but the wine is almost always a blend with about 20% Merlot. Also keep in mind that Bordeaux wines have been regarded as some of the absolute best red wines in the world for hundreds of years, so we should pay attention to how they do things.

Yes, in the Pomerol district of Bordeaux, the wines are usually about 80% Merlot, and some are 100%. But overall, Merlot is a component of the Bordeaux blend. It wasn't meant to "stand alone", except in some very special situations.

Here is what Bordeaux and Its Wines (the Bible of Bordeaux reference books) says about Merlot: "Merlot was often looked upon in its former times as an auxially variety. However, wine made from it has very real qualities, a lot of bouquet, savor and softness, which attenuates the firmness of the Cabernet wines and make them drinkable sooner."

I say go for a Merlot and Cabernet blend. Here is a good one: duo by Alto de Casablanca in the Maipo Valley of Chile. It's 74% Cabernet Sauvignon and 26% Merlot. Very good, lucious, deep, and rich flavored. It meets our criterion of a great value; don't pay more than eight or nine dollars a bottle, maybe less. Or do some experimenting with other Bordeaux blends from Chile.