Last year I tried the Red Diamond Cabernet Sauvignon and ended up being one of my favorites, so I was looking forward to trying the Merlot. This one didn’t come through as strong as the Cabernet though.
Like some other Merlots that I’ve been tasting, this has a more than just Merlot in it. It is 79% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Syrah.
The nose is OK, although it lacks both intensity and complexity. It’s mostly plum and blackberry on the nose, but also some mint—which some Merlot can have, but it seemed out of place in this one.
The palate seems that it lacks acidity, although the technical data would suggest otherwise. There is plenty of fruit in this one, in fact it’s downright juicy! It has lots of blackberry and plum on the palate. Perhaps the fruit is just overpowering the acid. The tannins are somewhat subtle too.
The fruitiness was definitely my favorite part of this wine and if you’re a fan of very fruity Merlot you may appreciate this more than I do. It’s an OK wine and very drinkable, but not spectacular.
Wine: Red Diamond
Variety: Merlot
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 82
Price: $9.00
agreed, this was disappointingly -nay, intriguingly juicy for a merlot. i ask, did the cabernet contaminet? yes, it did. however, the poison nonetheless allures the gullet to solve -and never forget.