Northstar Merlot Columbia Valley 2005

Wine Tasting NotesThis rich wine is concentrated and yet elegant, with aromas of cherry, plum, raspberry, and blackberry, finishing off with flavors of toasted oak, vanilla, coconut, mint, and toffee. Enjoy and celebrate!

Northstar Merlot 2005 Walla Walla and all other wine from Northstar are readily available to ship at discount prices. We carry many premium wine from across the world.

The Columbia Valley designated Merlot from Northstar accounts for six times as many cases as its Walla Walla Merlot, yet in quality terms it sometimes equals or even surpasses the pricier bottling. The 2005 vintage was stellar, and this lovely wine is bursting with fruit — raspberry, blackberry, plum and more. Spicy aromas and flavors wrap around chocolaty tannins; there are exotic hints of curry and plenty of toast.

Soft and open-textured, with a meaty edge to the cherry and spice flavors. Stays light on its feet through the mild tannins on the finish. Better than previously reviewed. Drink now through 2011.

Sourced from vineyards across the Columbia Valley, Northstar’s ’05 offering exhibits a nose of red berries and toasted coconut. It’s ripe, with plush, New World tannins, a palate rich in bacon fat and chocolate and a walloping oak treatment, lending this Merlot an almost Zinfandel-like structure. Somewhat short on the finish, save for the oaky chewiness. The blend of Merlot (80%), Cabernet Sauvignon (17%), and Petit Verdot (3%) was aged 18 months on French and American oak barrels.

Bright ruby-red. Smoky plum, redcurrant, huckleberry, minerals, menthol and oak on the inviting nose. Then juicy and quite dry in the middle, with a tight core of bitter chocolate flavor. Distinctly restrained, even a bit tart-edged today, with a firm tannin/acid spine keeping the wine’s flavors under wraps. But seems less oaky than the Stella Maris bottling, leaving me more optimistic about the wine’s future in bottle.

The 2005 Merlot Columbia Valley contains 17% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Petit Verdot aged for 18 months in 70% new French and American oak. Opaque purple, it offers up an expressive nose of smoky black cherry and black currant aromas, spice box, and mineral. It has a firm, tannic entry which is a mild cause for concern. The wine has good flavors and plenty of depth but there is tannin in the finish which blunts the fruit. It may evolve and round out but that is a gamble.