Coldstream Hills 2001 Merlot Oct 04

When this wine was first sniffed, I thought it may not be "right" and asked the guy behind the counter if he wouldn't mind checking it. He asked me what I thought was wrong with it and I said "its dumb and showing alderhyde characters." He responded, "there was no reserve wine released in 2001. It was made but not good enough to be released under its own label so this wine is a blend of two wines that were never meant to be married. It needs at least another twelve months to come together."

If you overlook the current disjointed nature of the wine, the structural components are good and this medium-weight wine is anything but an easy fruit rich quaffing Merlot. In fact, at this time it would be difficult to enjoy but if it comes together it would be a pretty serious Merlot. Off-sweet with an underlying sweet layer of fruit and medium-bodied, it is rated as Recommended with *** for value and room for improvement as the wine matures past 2006+.