2008 Robert Foley Merlot
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Tasting notes
(14.9% alcohol): Good ruby-red. Plum, redcurrant, cocoa powder, licorice and dark chocolate on the nose, with complementary oak tones; I would have guessed this had a significant percentage of cabernet sauvignon. Then concentrated, chewy and deep, with ripe acidity framing the sweet plum and cassis flavors. Large-scaled and chocolatey-rich merlot, finishing with sweet tannins and noteworthy length. Perhaps a bit more energetic than the 2007 version.
Critic scores
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Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
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The dense ruby/purple 2008 Merlot has a sweet kiss of toast along with white chocolate/cocoa, plum and black cherry. The wine comes further alive in the mouth with a gorgeous display of red and black fruits infused with chocolate, espresso, and copious pleasurable flavors that present a smorgasbord of all that can be crammed into a Merlot. This full-bodied, opulently textured, voluptuous Merlot is about as good as it gets. It is irresistible now but certainly capable of lasting a decade or more – if anyone has the willpower to resist it. The irrepressible and highly talented Bob Foley is out on his own now, although still consulting, and these wines are his personal projects. They have been very successful in the past, and there’s no indication that he intends to rest on his laurels. Tel. (707) 965-2669