Cork Belly Wines - Merlot, Round Two

Mirassou Merlot
Back of the Bottle
Offering fresh fruit flavors of dark plum, cherry, and blackberry, balanced with elegant toasty aromas and hints of spice, Mirrassou Merlot is a bright expression of California's most celebrated growing regions.

Right out of the Bottle
This is a wine that would match up well with the Smoking Loon. It has a more complex flavor, taking the fruitiness of your typical merlot, and sparking it with a slight spice. A very enjoyable wine for sure.

Red Bicyclette Merlot
Back of the Bottle
Rich, jammy, red fruit with hints of vanilla oak. Beautifully balanced and easy to enjoy, easy as riding a bike.

Right out of the Bottle
C'est magnifique! I must admit that I have favored Red Bicyclette as an eventual all out winner of this particular contest. It's really everything you could hope for in a good wine. It's a richer fruitiness than you find in other Merlots, and it has a special something that allows it to be very sweet without being frilly.

Winner, Out of the Bottle
It pitted the Mirassou and Red Bicyclette against eachother because I was pretty certain that one of them would prove to be the top Merlot of this little challenge. That said, the winner of this particular round will get one of the spots in the Merlot championship round.

That winner is Red Bicyclette. It's just too damn good to be beaten. I'll be interested to see if it can pull it out after a day or two. The Mirassou is very strong, and could take this round. After all, it's the day after that really counts in this challenge. Any wine can taste good out of the bottle, but it takes a great wine to stay good for a couple of days. I will probably sit down for the conclusion of Round 2 Tuesday night. . .