Beringer Bancroft Ranch Merlot 1997
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Beringer Bancroft Ranch Merlot 1997
Merlot from Napa Valley, California
ratings pedigree (past vintages):
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(this vintage is sold out)
The 2003 vintage is available for: $65.99
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winemaker's notes:
One of the top Merlots in the world, this wine has a quality that can only be described as all-around richness. Unlike some Merlots I've tasted, this wine from Bancroft has no hole in the middle.
Beringer's Bancroft Ranch vineyard is located at an elevation of 1,800 feet on Howell Mountain, a growing area with well-drained volcanic soils. In 1984, Howell Mountain became the first area within the Napa Valley appellation to be declared a separate viticultural area (AVA) for the distinct characteristics of its wine grapes. Bancroft Ranch produces clusters with small berries whose high skin-to-fruit ratio results in well-structured wines with concentrated flavors. Winemaster Ed Sbragia produced the first vineyard-designated Bancroft Ranch Merlot from the 1987 vintage.
"One in a great while, Mother Nature allows you to create what I call a 'seamless' wine, one in which the fruit, the tannins and the oak are in perfect balance. None of these three aspects-the holy trinity of red winemaking-dominates. Instead, they work together to elevate the wine beyond expectations, even the optimistic ones winemakers have in a vintage this special. It comes being able to pick the fruit when the tannins are as mature as the grapes, and then letting both evolve in the right kind of barrel at the right level of toast. I love the way this wine tastes now-mouthfilling and full of ripe fruit, assertive and yet soft as velvet, all at same time. But I fully expect it to improve as it ages, not just stay alive. When is the right moment to enjoy this wine at its peak? Every time I get a chance!" -Ed Sbragia
user reviews & lists:
0 out of 0 people would buy this wine again.
user reviews:
office@philatelic.com - Houston Texas
I suppose a comment on the most expensive wine I have tasted during my less than a year old new hobby, might be in order. I ordered this Beringer 1997 Howell Mountain Bancroft Ranch Merlot due to it's description, price, and the constant suggestion with it's rating on the wine.com site. I have just tried it very slightly chilled with new york aged cheddar, and a small side of buffalo chicken strips with Southwest dip (chunky red mild salsa with an equal part real ranch dressing and a dash of lime juice). My first smell and taste was as plain as steel landing plane flat on concrete with an extolled and resonant ring, translated in this case , as extravagant flavors and quality. Yes, this is one you can serve to not only your newest wine tasting friends, yet to your dusty old professional connoisseurs, and I honestly think that you could not dis-please anyone. In a very brief apercu, this wine breaks the doors down on oak taste. I love that quality. Don't get me doing it blindfolded, but the first taste does instantly clarify that it is a Merlot, not a Cabernet Sauvignon. Why is it over $100 a bottle? I don't really know, but this is a new hobby for me. I am pleased that I tried it when it was available as it is most certainly one of the best wines I have ever tasted. I feel the price paid was well worth the experience of giving my palate yet another good example of exactly what I like in wine. I have learned that I like it red, thick, crammed with flavors, which in fact change in the glass, and oak so sharp it's like chewing on a piece of oak bark. These are just my personal opinions on this wine, and if someone else likes what I have described here, go ahead and try this one. :) For peak value, pair it with a good aged NY steak smothered in provolone, three types of mushrooms from sauteed to deep fried, and of course with personal favorite sides. In my own personal logs in which I record every wine I try, this one is a 7 of 9 stars. It is only the 2nd wine I have ever rated at 7, and I have never rated one at 8 or 9 yet. So this one is in fact the second and equal best wine of the two best I have ever tasted. The other one was the Gallo of Sonoma 1997 Barrelli Creek (Alexander Valley) Cabernet Sauvignon. If you want a wine and meal night you will never forget, try my food suggestion, one bottle of this one and one bottle of 1997 Gallo of Sonoma Barrelli Creek Cabernet that I mentioned, blah blah blah.... Try both wines shortly before, with and after the meal. There you most certainly should have created a wine experience distantly beyond paralell.
jpincus@adelphia.net - Florida
This particular bottling is quite unique. The cost is probably attributable to a very small yield. It is worth it. Unlike the previous reviewer I would drink this with very simple foods...prime beef, rack of lamb with little or no saucing. Don't forget to leave some to savour with a fine Brie or Stilton. I have had the extreme pleasure of drinking this vineyard in a 1991 vintage in magnum. That wine compared favorably with some of the great reds of Bordeaux including first growths of 1961, 1966 and 1970.
With the present bottle (two are left in my collection, but not for long) I would recommend decanting about 60-75 minutes before pouring.
This wine "works" without any food. Perhaps a plain piece of fine, crusty bread is enough.
Enjoy!
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RWC440823_1997
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