Another excellent tasting was held at the Sky Terrace Vineyards in Danville. The weather was a little milder than expected, so after having a pretaste outdoors, we moved inside for the official tasting and dinner. The tasting was comprised of 4 Merlots from Napa and 4 from Columbia Valley in Washington state. Napa Valley won once again, garnishing the top 3 wines.
The winning wine was the 2014 Shafer Vineyards ($55) which received four 1st place votes and only one 8th place, while the 2nd place wine (the 2015 Duckhorn Three Palms Vineyard $89) received six 1st place votes but also had two 8th place votes and three 7th place votes, so you either loved it or hated it. The 3rd place wine (the 2014 Robert Keenan Mailbox Vineyard) was just two points behind, but only received one 1st place vote but had five 2nd place votes and no 8th place and only one 7th place votes.
Here are the complete voting results:
Here are the full descriptions of the wines with corresponding bottle numbers that were tasted: 2018-09 Merlots
And here are some photos from our wonderful tasting:
While Indra is away, Diane will play 🙂
Genie & Sandy enjoy a pretaste with a wonderful view of Mt. Diablo in the background.
Preferred guests Tito and Elaine
ANNOUNCEMENT
WHAT: 2014 Merlots from Napa and Columbia Valley, Washington
WHEN: Sat. Sept. 15 at 5:30 P.M. (so al fresco dining at 6:30 is perfect)
We will taste eight 2014 Merlots: 4 from Napa Valley and 4 from the Columbia Valley. Pre-tasting wines will be 4 premium Merlots of different vintages and regions. Tasting and dinner will be outside, and there is room for 30 participants. Please feel free to invite guests. Catered Italian dinner, will be served family style at 6:30, and will include meat and vegetarian options. We will be in the garden and vineyard, so bring wine glasses, layers, and comfortable shoes. You are also welcome to come early for tour/work in the winery, or just hanging out at the pool.
Cellar Society of San Francisco 