2004 Merus Cabernet Sauvignon-I recieved a bottle of this wine as a
sample bottle a number of months ago and threw it into a case that I
shipped down to Marco Island. I pulled it last night and was
surprised that the shelf talkers attached to it had Parker and WS
giving it scores of 94 and 96 respectively. At a MRSP of $160 I
expected a lot and what I got was a lot of oak. The wine is inky
black in the glass with the thickness that comes with super
extraction. It clung to glass in an inky purple sheet. The nose was
super ripe with blackberry, blueberry and mint with the ever present
oak. Very heavy on the palate with pronounced creme de cassis,
espresso and oaky vanilla. Plush yet firm tannin structure and a bit
of acidity might give this some longevity. Not my style of wine and
wouln't buy it but if one likes this style it's a real blockbuster and
would problably be worthy of an "A" but I can only give it a "B-"
since there is no QPR to me. It is far too large to enjoy with food
and too concentrated to drink as a cocktail.