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Mercer Canyons Columbia Valley Red Blend 2013

Mercer Canyons Columbia Valley Red 2013 is a blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Syrah.  It is interesting that they have chosen to market this wine as a red blend rather than a Merlot.  Perhaps previous vintages have had less Merlot in the wine than the 2013.  The winemaker has barrel aged the Merlot and the Syrah separately for up to 12 months and then blended them together.  The label states the alcohol content as 13.9%.

This enjoyable wine has flavors of black cherry and plum.  The website claims that caramel is also part of the flavor mix but I did not detect that.  Perhaps, I will sense it the next time, if only due to the power of suggestion.   I definitely liked the wine and will buy it again.  Our local Costco included this in the current wine sale and it is reduced $2 to $7.79.  (I bought it prior to the sale for the higher price)  This is a great value at $9.79 or $7.79.

I have one criticism and that is that the back label has a story about cattle grazing and tells nothing useful about the wine.  Since the information on the bottle only says it is a red blend, the buyer has no clue about what is inside.  It could be anything and I should not have to go to a website to determine if the wine fits what I am looking for.

SC Wine Joe rating = 89 points



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