Wine Lovers' Page: Carmen 1993 Reserve Merlot

Today's Wine Tasting Note

Carmen 1993 Rapel Valley (Chile) Reserve Merlot ($10.99)
Parker raved about the '95 Carmen Reserve Merlot, with the result that it disappeared from the shelves so fast that I couldn't even find any right here in the importer's home town. But knowing Carmen to have an excellent record with all its Reserve wines (as opposed to the regular bottlings, which are average), I couldn't resist grabbing a leftover bottle of the '93 when I spotted it in the $10 range at Premier Liquors in Buffalo, N.Y., last week. Good decision! Clear, dark garnet. Black-cherry fruit and oaky vanillin aromas. Full, ripe fruit flavor, surprisingly fresh and youthful, with a firm acidic structure and still showing soft tannins. Juicy black cherries persist in a long finish. Importer: Brown-Forman Beverage Co., Louisville. (Oct. 10, 1997)

All my wine-tasting reports are consumer-oriented. In order to maintain objectivity and avoid conflicts of interest, I purchase all the wines I rate at my own expense in retail stores.

Back to Current Tasting Notes Page

Talk about wine | Ask wine question | Wine Lovers' Page

Web-weaving by Cliffwood Organic Works