A lovely wine, with tons of forward berry and mocha flavor. Well-integrated oak adds toast and spice. Very enjoyable now, but might improve with short term cellaring. Grade: B...

A yummy steak wine. Dark fruit, chocolate, and a dash of oriental spices on the nose and palate. Probably not a wine for the cellar, but a very fine choice right now to accompany a simple grilled steak and fries. Grade: B...

There's nothing wrong with this wine, but there's also nothing special about it. It lacks any uniquely Merlot markers, instead offering generic red wine associations. If I have a serious complaint, it is that I found it a bit tart for my taste. As a basic red to consume with steak, however, it's fine so long as you don't pay more than about $15. Grade: C+/B...

This is precisely what a quality young Merlot should be. Plenty of forward fruit (plums, raspberry, and blueberry) with smooth tannins that make it easy to drink now. At the same time, however, there's enough stuffing to suggest that up to 5 more years in the cellar would not be amiss. A nearly perfect steak wine. (I paired it with Wagyu strip steaks from D'Artagnan Meats , french fries...

This is precisely what a quality young Merlot should be. Plenty of forward fruit (plums, raspberry, and blueberry) with smooth tannins that make it easy to drink now. At the same time, however, there's enough stuffing to suggest that up to 5 more years in the cellar would not be amiss. A nearly perfect steak wine. (I paired it with Wagyu strip steaks from D'Artagnan Meats , french fries...

Pine Ridge is a very reliable winery and their Crimson Creek Merlot usually makes for enjoyable quaffing. This bottle from the 2002 vintage, however, was just awful. Industrial and medicinal flavors and aromas dominated. If I were going to assign a grade, I'd give it a D. Considering that the Spectator gave it an 85, however, I'm going to give Pine Ridge the benefit of the doubt and assume I got...

... called Epic, a Merlot-dominated wine." As it approaches age 10, at which point all too many California Merlots are falling apart, this 1997 vintage wine is remarkably youthful. A deep ruby color. The nose is rather muted at the moment, which is the sole negative. On the palate, the wine is still ... as it continues to evolve. If you're looking for a California Merlot that can compete with top Pomerols, track...