Mastronardi Estates Merlot 2002 Review
Sun 24, May. 09
3 Reviews
0 Reviews
Winemaker’s Notes:
Full-bodied red, barrel-aged for 18 months. This rich and velvety wine has hints of raspberry and black currants. Match with prime rib, duck, and wild game.
VQA Lake Erie North Shore
13% alc./vol.
Gold Medal Winner: All Canadian Wine Championship
Price: 750 mL $60 (May 2009)
Rate and review Mastronardi Merlot 2002
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“Oh this is good” and” WOW” were a couple of the phrases said when members of my family tasted this wine over the weekend.
This wine has been hidden away at Mastronardi’s winery for some time and has not been available for sale to the public. A few cases have found there way back into their retail store.
At $60/bottle this is a “Special Occasion” wine for a celebration or family gathering. In my case it was a family gathering visiting several members of my family that I have not seen in almost a year. This wine was perfect for our gathering.
The nose has a wonderful bouquet of oak and dark fruits. Deep dark red colours in the glass.
Taste …. wonderful, big, bold, juicy, velvety smooth were just some of the descriptions family members gave this wine. Everyone enjoyed it. Some, including myself said that it was the best merlot they have ever tried. You will be hard pressed to find another local Merlot this good.
Mastronardi’s 2006 Merlot is very good too, in fact we did a side by side taste test and picked up a lot of the same notes. What did separate 2002 from 2006 was the bigger oaky taste in the 2002. It just gave this wine that little extra mature sophisticated aura that was appreciated.
I highly recommend this merlot, get it before the last few remaining cases are gone.
Its been a very long time since I sipped this jewel. This by far is the BEST MERLOT in Lake Erie North Shore. We purchased a case of this wine when the winery originally released it, however it didn’t last long in the cellar - it was that good! Gary, I would have loved to be at your “special occasion” when you emerged with this fine sipper. I did not know the winery rereleased this wine but I will make my way down there this weekend to buy some before its gone again. I look forward to reviewing and updating you on my bottle very shortly.
Our son purchased this wine for his dad for Fathers Day…. since our son no longer lives in the area we couldn’t wait till Father’s Day to open this bottle. Today was steak and lobster tails on the grill and this wonderful 2002 Merlot accompanied this dinner beautifully. Like your family, Gary the sounds coming out of our guests was almost euphoric like. The wine is drinking perfectly right now, and worth every dime. If you anyone is hindering on spending $60 on a wine, trust me this one will not disappoint. Gary if you had extra stars rating this product would surely be deserving.
I think we are going to splurge and pick up a case and keep it a bit longer in our cellar for those great gatherings with family and friends. I do hope they still have some left.
Barb, what a great Father’s Day gift idea. Wanda, if you are reading this … HINT HINT
Only if I could afford a case I too would buy one.
If you get a chance open a bottle of Mastronardi’s 2006 at the same time. While it may not be just as smooth as the 2002 I was surprised at just how well this one held up next to it’s older brother and at a much cheaper price too.
Thanks for your review!
Gary