Northstar Merlot - $34.99

Wine Details

Price: $34.99
Producer: Northstar
Region: Columbia Valley
Varietal: Merlot
Container Size: 750 ML
Flavors: blackberry, cherry, licorice, tar
  • Award Winning
  • Red Wine
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Product Description

  • An elegant wine that opens with bold aromas of raspberry, mint, maple, chocolate, clove, coconut and licorice, it’s medium-bodied, dense and muscular with a bold, rich, smoky coffee-mocha finish.

Expert Ratings

Ratings   Vintage Source Flavors
WineSpectator - 91 Details: Elegant, almost aristocratic, offering subtle layers of blackberry, cherry, tar and licorice aromas and flavors, finishing harmoniously. Tannins are firm but not intrusive. This one should develop beautifully in the cellar. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. Best from 2007 through 2013. 9,137 cases made. –HS 2003 WineSpectator blackberry, cherry, licorice, tar
WineSpectator - 88 Details: Firm, with fine tannins around a core of berry and woodsy aromas and flavors, carefully crafted if a bit short on intensity. Maybe it just needs time to flesh out. Best from 2008 through 2015. 8,700 cases made. (HS) 2002 WineSpectator berry
WineSpectator - 90 Details: Firm, just fleshy enough to show an impressive range of black currant, blueberry, black olive and sweet spice flavors, which linger on the harmonious finish. Tannins are there, but polished. Best from 2005 through 2012. 4,874 cases made. –HS 2001 WineSpectator black currant, blueberry, spice
Tanzer - 88 Details: ($52) Good ruby-red. Tobacco and plum on the nose. Fat and sweet if a bit dry-edged, with fairly intense flavors of plum, redcurrant, raspberry and tobacco leaf. Less complex and deep than the Walla Walla merlot but offers good brightness of fruit. Finishes with more noticeable, slightly dry-edged tannins. 2001 Tanzer plum, raspberry, redcurrant, tobacco, tobacco leaf
WineEnthusiast - 88 Details: Medium-bodied, showing cherry and plum fruit and a rather hard structure, with herb, green tea and tobacco streaks. Not quite up to previous standards. 2001 WineEnthusiast cherry, herb, plum, tea, tobacco
CGCW - 89 Details: 25% Cabernet Sauvignon. Rich and ripe with smoky and herbal overlays to its outgoing aromas, this full-sized wine gets a little bit blustery on the palate where its fleshy texture and generous tannins come face to face with ripe, slightly dried cherry notes. It will need to be partnered with savory chunks of beef to serve now, but it has the stuffing for age. 2001 CGCW beef, dried cherry, herbal, smoky
WineSpectator - 92 Details: Dark and ripe. Not heavy, but fleshy with coffee- and black pepper'scented plum, blueberry and dried currant flavors, echoing intensively on the fine-grained finish. Notable for its balance and finesse. Drink now through 2007. 2,800 cases made. –HS 2000 WineSpectator blueberry, currant, plum
Tanzer - 90 Details: ($52) Bright ruby-red. Superripe aromas of cassis, black raspberry, dark chocolate and tobacco. Sweet, broad and pliant but also juicy and fresh, with lively, fruit-driven flavors of red and black berries complemented by spicy oak. Offers excellent intensity and weight, with solid underlying backbone. Finishes with ripe, sweet tannins and impressive length. Very fresh, firm, varietally expressive merlot with personality. 2000 Tanzer berries, cassis, dark chocolate, oak, raspberry, spicy, tobacco
WineEnthusiast - 94 Details: Northstar has ramped up production to 2,900 cases, on its way to 15,000 once the new winery (being built in Walla Walla) is operational. Here is flat-out killer fruit, stacked with all the flavors of the rainbow, that finds the silky sweet spot on the palate and goes for a long, long ride. This winery is on a roll. Editors’ Choice. 1999 WineEnthusiast
WineSpectator - 91 Details: Rich, packed with currant, blueberry, tar and spice flavors that linger on the firm finish and offer a few layers more than do most Washington Merlot. Approachable now. Best after 2004. 24,500 cases made. –HS 1999 WineSpectator
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Food Pairings

Category Pairing
Red Meat Barbeque Pulled-Pork or Ribs, Grilled Pork Tenderloin, Wild Game - Elk, Caribou, Moose, Venison, Casseroles / Hot Dish
Pasta & Grains Lasagna
Poultry & Eggs Roast Chicken with Herbs
Vegetables Beans, White, Mushrooms, Potatoes, Tomato
Sauces Red Wine Sauce

Awards and Accolades

  Name Vintage
Award Winner Bronze - 2008 San Diego Int'l Wine Competition 2004

Wine Terms

Name Value
Merlot (mer loh) Deep in color, high in alcohol and low in tannins, this grape is grown mostly in California, France, Washington, New York and Chile. The aromas and flavors can be plummy, chocolaty, and even redolent of tea leaves. It is often blended with Cabernet Sauvignon although it is the most prevalent grape variety in Bordeaux.
United States Wineries exist in all fifty states, but the most predominant (and best) wine comes from Northern California, Oregon, and Washington State, with New York gaining a foothold in the industry. American wines make up about 75% of all wine sales in the US. The appellation system uses the term AVA (American Viticultural Area) to determine where wines were produced, but grape varieties can be planted anywhere in the country. American wineries generally use varietal labeling, and government regulations require that the variety on the label must make up at least 75% of the blend (in Oregon it’s 90%). The words reserve, special selection, private reserve, classic, and so on have no legal definition in the US. Some wineries use these terms to indicate their better wines; others use the words as a marketing tool to move lower quality wines off the shelf.
Washington Most of the wineries in this state are located east of the Cascade Range, where the climate is desert-like, with hot days and cool nights. The irrigated vineyards produce high yield, but the flavor is nevertheless very good. Traditionally Rieslings have been the most successful here, but currently Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc are doing well. Chardonnay is successfully fermented in new oak barrels, yielding distinctively crisp and delicate flavors, like fresh apples. Washington Merlot, with its cherry flavors and aroma, tends to be more full-bodied, moderately tannic and slightly higher in alcohol than its Bordeaux cousins and higher in acidity than those from California. Acreage for the Syrah grape has increased substantially in the past few years, and in Washington it turns into big, dark, intensely concentrated wines with aromas and flavors of blackberries, black currants, roasted coffee and leather. A little-known German grape, Lemberger, does very well here. It produces a fruity but dry red wine in the Beaujolais or Dolcetto style.
Columbia Valley The Columbia Valley American Viticultural Area (AVA) is the largest in the state of Washington. It includes the Yakima Valley, Red Mountain, Walla Walla, and Horse Heaven Hill AVAs within its boundaries.

Tasting Notes

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