Sampled submitted for review.
From the bottle:
Congratulations! You have picked up a stunning Merlot.
Our Palarea Merlot is a full bodied and rich wine which can be enjoyed now or sit down for years to come. We recommend letting this wine breathe at least 30 minutes before serving.
Terroir Wine Cellars is proud to bring you undiscovered gems from across the globe that are made with passion. To discover our offerings visit us on www.terroirwinecellars.com.
-Paul Clear, CEO and FounderMatch with chicken parmesan, roast beef or steak, dark chocolate.
14% alcohol
I've really enjoyed the wines I've had from Spain lately, and the 2006 Palarea Merlot is no exception. This is the second of three wines from Terroir Wine Cellars, a company born when founder Paul Clear hopped a plane to Spain:
Clear recounts how the company got it’s start. “I was tired of working for other people quite frankly. So I hopped on a plane to Madrid, rented a car and started knocking on winery doors. I explained how I wanted to start making my own high quality brand that the American wine consumer would appreciate. It took 3 trips, countless tastings and visits with over 125 wineries before I finally found a spot I deemed worthy of my brand. Once the place was decided, we started working on Palarea! We started small,” says Clear, “just one wine. Next thing you know, it blew up and we were adding wines and states.”
The 2006 Palarea Merlot exhibits a very nice aroma of ripe fruit, blackberries, a little bit of vanilla and maybe even some coffee. It has a nice fruity taste and is very smooth with some wonderful tannins and a bit of spice coming in on the finish that complements the smoothness wonderfully. Overall a very good structure and a wine I can easily recommend. In addition, my wife is generally not a fan of Merlot but she wholeheartedly gives her endorsement to this one! A wine that should find a spot on the next update of The Reverse Wine Snob Top 10 list.
See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.