Price: $7
Maker: Twin Fin Wines
Variety: Merlot
Packaging: Bottle, screw cap
Our Rating: 8.5 out of 10
Twin Fin Merlot 2003 is impressively drinkable. We liked the Twin Fin Shiraz when we tried it; it, too, featured a slightly off-putting screw cap. Don’t be fooled by the cap – this Merlot is very smooth with a reasonably full body. Its flavor is black cherry, mixed with oak and enough tannin to give it a little bite and complexity. This is a great wine for informal dining, cookouts, and general-purpose enjoying with friends.
Others are finding Twin Fin to be an easy-to-enjoy brand, too. The Mingaling blog lists it as a fave, and Robert Mayfield of the Statesman Journal says,
It was the Twin Fin, 2002 California Merlot, $10. It has what some people call grip, others call bite, and what I call, “hey, where you been all my life?” A merlot with tannins, flavor. A merlot that stamps its feet and demands attention. Earthy tannins, plum, berry and mushroom flavors, with some edginess to it. Incredible for $10 and a screw-cap.
Twin Fin is producing some very pleasant wines… now I just have to hunt down the pinot noir and cab.