I've had a great relationship with Lieb Cellars for four years now and their wines have been on this blog many times. To learn more about both Lieb Cellars and Bridge Lane, check out my article A Brief History of Lieb Cellars - On the North Fork of Long Island, New York from 2016. With everything you need to know about them there I'm gonna jump right into the reviews. Click here to see all of the reviews done so far this month.
A few years ago I reviewed the 2014 vintage of this wine but today I've got the 2015 Reserve Merlot. It's 81% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc, 3% Malbec, and 2% Petit Verdot. Yeast strain T23 (from a Spanish Rioja fermentation) was used for open top, punch down fermentation. It macerated for twenty-two days, saw 100% malolactic fermentation with Hansen Viniflora bacteria, then spent ten months in Hungarian oak. Harvest was in October 2015, bottling was in January 2017, and it has a final ABV of 12.9%.
The color of the wine is garnet, leaning more towards purple than red. There was a lot of tobacco and sandalwood on the nose at first, but they take a step back behind the fruit once it opens up. Just like the 2014 vintage, it's all about the black. Black cherries, blackberries, and black olives. It's medium bodied with softer tannin and less acidity than the previous vintage. On the palate the black cherries are big and juicy, and raspberries brighten up the profile while dark chocolate darkens it. The finish of black cherries and black tea goes on fooooooreeeeeevvvvvveeeeeeerrrrr.
This is yet again a perfect example of Merlot that any fan of the varietal will fall in love with, and $20 is an insanely good deal for the quality you're getting. So I'm gonna give this ANOTHER PERFECT SCORE! Lieb knows how to knock it completely out of the park with my favorite varietal. Keep that Merlot coming, guys!
A few years ago I reviewed the 2014 vintage of this wine but today I've got the 2015 Reserve Merlot. It's 81% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc, 3% Malbec, and 2% Petit Verdot. Yeast strain T23 (from a Spanish Rioja fermentation) was used for open top, punch down fermentation. It macerated for twenty-two days, saw 100% malolactic fermentation with Hansen Viniflora bacteria, then spent ten months in Hungarian oak. Harvest was in October 2015, bottling was in January 2017, and it has a final ABV of 12.9%.
The color of the wine is garnet, leaning more towards purple than red. There was a lot of tobacco and sandalwood on the nose at first, but they take a step back behind the fruit once it opens up. Just like the 2014 vintage, it's all about the black. Black cherries, blackberries, and black olives. It's medium bodied with softer tannin and less acidity than the previous vintage. On the palate the black cherries are big and juicy, and raspberries brighten up the profile while dark chocolate darkens it. The finish of black cherries and black tea goes on fooooooreeeeeevvvvvveeeeeeerrrrr.
This is yet again a perfect example of Merlot that any fan of the varietal will fall in love with, and $20 is an insanely good deal for the quality you're getting. So I'm gonna give this ANOTHER PERFECT SCORE! Lieb knows how to knock it completely out of the park with my favorite varietal. Keep that Merlot coming, guys!
QUALITY VS PRICE RATING
Price: $20
Rating: 5/5 = Highly Recommended (what does that mean?)
The bottle used was supplied free of charge for the purpose of this unpaid review. To have your wine reviewed follow this link.
The bottle used was supplied free of charge for the purpose of this unpaid review. To have your wine reviewed follow this link.
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