Tasting - Robert Mondavi Private Selection Merlot

Name: Robert Mondavi Private Selection

Variety: Merlot

Region: Monterey County, CA

Country: United States

Year: 2016

Price: $15

Winer Review: This merlot blends the craftsmanship of traditional winemaking with the exotic tradition of dark rum barrel aging. Jammy plum and blueberry flavors. Rum barrel aging contributes to nuances of toasted coconut, molasses, brown spices, and rich vanilla.

My Review: When I saw this in the store I had to try it, for several reasons. Robert Mondavi was one of the winemakers talked about as being innovative for his time. So of course I wanted to try something from his winery. Also, this week I watched all the video on barrels. This wine was aged in a rum barrel so I thought it might be interesting to see how the flavor profiles changed. 

When I first opened the wine I saw that it was a very dark burgundy color. I was not expecting this for a merlot. I guess the few that I have tried have been pretty light in color.  It smelled of spicy wet wood and mildew. It had a chemical smell to it as well and also hints of garlic. While I love garlic, I'm not sure how I felt about it in my wine. 

This was probably one of the stranger wines that I have tried. It tasted like mashed potatoes with a buttery garlic finish. It also tasted like bamboo and sugar cane. I have tried both of these things and it just taste like sweet splinters. It was very acidic, but not tannic in the least bit. It was hard to swallow. It was peppery in the finish and based off the color, I assumed that it was going to have a pretty heavy body. In fact, it was quite light. I think because of the chemical smell that I had noticed earlier it had quite an astringent aftertaste. 

Overall, I didn't care for this wine. I'm glad I tried it because it did give the wine some flavors that I associate with rum. I did not try this with food. I had enough to do the tasting and that was it for me. I'm really hoping the rum barrel aged Cab Sav I also picked up is a lot better than this one!