Gnarly Head Merlot
Wine: Gnarly Head Merlot.
Grapes: merlot (90 percent), zinfandel (10 percent)
Region: Lodi, Calif.
Vintage: 2010
Price: $5.99
In the glass: Gnarly Head Merlot is a deep purplish-red with a clean, semi-opaque appearance going out into a light purple to crimson-red rim definition and showing medium-high viscosity.
On the nose: There are powerful crushed black fruits jumping out of the glass with lots of blackberry jam, boysenberry juice, hints of creamy cherry crush with underlying notes of even more red plummy fruits, touches of phenolics and minerals.
On the palate: There is a full frontal attack of crushed black berry fruits, concentrated jammy and even slightly spicy cassis, blackberry sorbet, soft, balanced tannins and a really lovely juicy mouth-feel. The midpalate is solid showing good backbone, and the lingering finish is a testament to skilled winemaking using top quality fruit, with just a touch of black licorice, black cherry and allspice remaining on the palate after 20-plus seconds.
Odds and ends: Gnarly Head is one of those ubiquitous brands that one can find widely in all retail stores, but this merlot is unusual because it is the newest vintage and already was slashed from its normal $10 to about $6 in local retail. Deals abound in the beginning of a new year as retailers take advantage of great buys at the end of the previous year. Lodi is mostly known for its great old zinfandel vines, and Gnarly Head started out as a zinfandel specialist but now has a full lineup of tasty wines (including another one called Authentic Red that might also be worth searching out). This merlot does have a little added zinfandel in it and it does nothing to diminish this supple and tasty wine. It could be a great match with a nice rare steak, as it has the backbone and juiciness for it. Drink it now through 2015.
Gil Lempert-Schwarz's wine column appears Wednesdays. Write him at P.O. Box 50749, Henderson, NV 89106-0749, or email him at gil@winevegas.com.
