Smoking Loon Merlot

a fun, potent, mid-price bottle

california merlot

What is it with wine companies naming themselves after unusual (and often, hypothetical) animals? Anyway, smoking loon is another in this tradition, and has produced a full-bodied merlot with a pleasant "smoky"/"toasty" aftertaste.

Also, the vintners clearly have a sense of humor, as evidenced by the hacking/wheezing loon (a bird, for those who don't know) on their label

created: Wednesday, May 30, 2007 (PST)

[0 / 0 found this useful , viewed 569 times]

(printer friendly version)

Description / Instructions / Review

If you live in california long enough, you end up thinking "if you've had one mid-range merlot, you've had them all". This one breaks some of the traditions that have given the mid-range merlots their "mass appeal", and has a fairly potent flavor with a reasonably full body (not like a lot of the anemic stuff in the same 6-7 dollar price range).

Anyway, all in all a fun bottle that is distinctive and flavorful enough to be consumable by itself, but I personally recommend it with some mildly flavorful cheese (e.g. a colby or light cheddar).