Lake Merced Vineyards Tempranillo: Mellow California Red Feb 19 '02    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet Popular Products in Wine Yago Sant'gria 750ml From $6 Louis Jadot Beaujolais Villages 2006 750ml From $10 The Bottom Line This is a boring red wine, and not very enjoyable or memorable. Lake Merced Vineyards is a small, little- known winery located in Los Angeles, California. This company doesn’t produce very many wines, but I happen to come across a bottle of one of its products and I decided to sample it and rate it here, in the “hard to find” category. The wine is called Lake Merced Tempranillo, a dark red wine bottled in 2000. Basic Characteristics of This Wine: Tempranillo is not a very well- known style of wine. This type of wine gets its name from the Spanish for “early”, which refers to its shorter than average time for ripening of the grapes. Swirling this wine around in my glass released a bouquet that was floral and fruity. The flavor of the wine was not as full- bodied as I expected it to be. The dominant flavor was like a mixture of grapes and plums, with hints of vanilla and a dry finish. The overall taste was balanced- not too sweet or too dry. There was also just a hint of spiciness to this wine. The alcohol level is 12.5 percent, by volume. I found that the taste of this wine was better as it warmed up just a tad. When I tried this wine at first, I took the bottle straight from the refrigerator so the wine was well- chilled- around 40 degrees. Some of the complex flavors were covered up, because of the excessive chill. I left the bottle out of the refrigerator and then poured a little more and I found that it tasted better. It was still slightly chilled, but it was probably around 55 degrees in temperature, which was just right. Food Compatibility: I didn’t have any food prepared when I sampled this wine, and I think it would have tasted much better with a good meal. This wine would match up well with brown rice, seafood, grilled pork, and many other meat dishes. It would also make a good accompaniment to pasta dishes that include tomato sauce. Final Thoughts: Red wines, I admit, are not among my favorites. I prefer white wine, champagne, port, and other styles over basic red wine. It’s rare that I even sample a red wine at all. Lake Merced Tempranillo is a so- so wine, somewhat lacking in character and a little bland, for a red wine. It does have a few complex attributes (like those I mention above) but their presence is minimal. This product would make a decent enough table wine, and it would also make a good addition to certain food dishes, as an ingredient. I didn’t find this wine to be that great or memorable, consumed by itself. With a price of $9.50 per 750 ml bottle, I don’t think this wine is worth the price. I rate this wine 2 stars out of 5. It just doesn’t have anything special to offer. Buy it, if you like red wine, but keep your expectations low.

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