I’m starting to re-think my plan of continuing my recent theme of blended red wines, because everything is suffering in comparison to the Nicholas Cole GraEagle.
I really liked the Matchless Red when I tried it on its own back in October, but tasting it after drinking the Nicholas Cole made me a much harsher critic of it than I would have been a month ago (and really than I should be now). The latest victim is the Maryhill 2004 Proprietor’s Reserve Serendipity, a blend of 30% merlot, 29% cab sauv, 29% malbec and 12% cab franc.
The most interesting thing about this wine is that it forced me to take back what I said before about malbec not standing on its own in a blend. The malbec dominates this wine from start to finish.
When I first tried a malbec, I was taken aback by the nose, which was meaty and stewy. I didn’t expect to like the wine, but was pleasantly surprised by the subtle flavors. It’s been a few months since I had that bottle (courtesy of a Terra Blanca wine club shipment), so I don’t remember precisely what it tasted like, but I remember really enjoying it and expecting to see malbec catch on the same way syrah did a few years back as the new “it” varietal.
The Serendipity has the same nose as that bottle of malbec, but what surprised me was that it tasted more or less like it smelled. It’s got a slightly rasiny quality about it that dissolves into something like wet leather. I’d almost compare it to a bret wine, but the effect isn’t that severe. The finish has a lingering chalky flavor to it, which again I associate with how it was pressed.
It’s a really good wine, but like the Matchless Red, it can’t stand up next to the GraEagle. The Serendipity is a much earthier wine. The fruit that you’d expect from the merlot never materializes. The cab franc fails to impart the peppery flavor you’d expect, and the cab sauv - it seems like its normal tobacco overtones just wind up accentuating the malbec, which is what takes center stage. This is the type of wine that would appeal to somebody who likes a wine with a hint of barnyard and leather.
If I had it to do over again, I would have drunk this wine first, then proceeded to the Matchless Red and then had the GraEagle. That would have made the positive qualities of each stand out and complement the previous wine, a progression from earthier to fruitier, from less subtle to more.
As is, it’s like the March Madness of wine, and the GraEagle is mowing down every opponent in its bracket. I might have to switch to a varietal after this.
