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The Wine Pair Podcast - Is Merlot Making a Comeback? (An underdog story? Wines from the Right Bank of Bordeaux)

Is Merlot Making a Comeback? (An underdog story? Wines from the Right Bank of Bordeaux)

Explicit content warning

05/28/23 • 44 min

The Wine Pair Podcast

The 2004 movie Sideways did a number on Merlot, hurting its reputation and suppressing sales. But was that impact justified? Did we judge Merlot too harshly? Is it time to let Merlot rejoin the cool kids table?!? In this episode, we give Merlot a fighting chance to win back a place in our hearts - and our cellar. We admit we are not the biggest fans of Merlot, but can one of these wines change our mind? We selected three highly rated wines, all under $20, and two from the Bordeaux region of France, to see if we could find a Merlot that convinced us that it is deserving reconsideration. And guess what - we found one!!! We also talk a bit about the history of Merlot, and the so-called Sideways effect. Wines reviewed in this episode: 2016 Ronan by Clinet, 2018 Santa Ema Reserva Merlot, and 2019 Chateau Mayne-Vieil Cuvée Alienor.

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The 2004 movie Sideways did a number on Merlot, hurting its reputation and suppressing sales. But was that impact justified? Did we judge Merlot too harshly? Is it time to let Merlot rejoin the cool kids table?!? In this episode, we give Merlot a fighting chance to win back a place in our hearts - and our cellar. We admit we are not the biggest fans of Merlot, but can one of these wines change our mind? We selected three highly rated wines, all under $20, and two from the Bordeaux region of France, to see if we could find a Merlot that convinced us that it is deserving reconsideration. And guess what - we found one!!! We also talk a bit about the history of Merlot, and the so-called Sideways effect. Wines reviewed in this episode: 2016 Ronan by Clinet, 2018 Santa Ema Reserva Merlot, and 2019 Chateau Mayne-Vieil Cuvée Alienor.

Send us a Text Message and we'll respond in our next episode!

Contact The Wine Pair Podcast - we’d love to hear from you!
Visit our website, leave a review, and reach out to us: https://thewinepairpodcast.com/
Follow and DM us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewinepairpodcast/
Send us an email: [email protected]

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Contact The Wine Pair Podcast - we’d love to hear from you!
Visit our website, leave a review, and reach out to us: https://thewinepairpodcast.com/
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Send us a Text Message and we'll respond in our next episode!

Contact The Wine Pair Podcast - we’d love to hear from you!
Visit our website, leave a review, and reach out to us: https://thewinepairpodcast.com/
Follow and DM us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewinepairpodcast/
Send us an email: [email protected]

The Wine Pair Podcast - Is Merlot Making a Comeback? (An underdog story? Wines from the Right Bank of Bordeaux)

Transcript

Show Notes
Episode 76: Is Merlot Making a Comeback? (An underdog story? Wines from the Right Bank of Bordeaux) 00:00

Hello! And welcome to The Wine Pair Podcast. I’m Joe, your sommelier of reasonably priced wine, and this is my wife and my wine pairing partner in crime, Carmela. And we are The Wine Pair!
Ok, a quick orientation for those of you who may be new to the podcast - in each episode we learn about, taste and give our honest review of three wines that are r

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