Yes I won most helpful wine reviewer by a landslide this past year. My approach to wine reviewing is the best thing going today! Anyone on a pop and pour and guessing where a wine is going is doing it wrong (That would be everyone else). Anyway check out this patience as this wine was going into the Wines Disrupted category until day 3 happened.
- 2010 Woodward Canyon Merlot – USA, Washington, Columbia Valley (2/8/2026)
Day 1: Natural cork. Drinking out of the Riedel Performance Cab Stem. Nose is better than the palate which is nothing but oak bourbon barrels. Nose has some cherry, chocolate and spice but the palate is harsh and not drinkable. This is what happens when you over oak the wines with new American Oak. This is really bad. 65 points
Day 3: More drinkable but when you over the crap out of wine you lose the great fruit. Still lots of oak with some more fruit showing featuring cherry, plum, spices, vanilla and dark chocolate. Well thanks to day 3 the score is so much better. If you are not doing day 3 you are missing out on true great wine experiences. 85 points
Recommendation: Not a big fan of Woodward overall but will say this was one of the bigger improvements on a wine in a while. 20 points! (85 points)
I love used your reviews with great success.
“use” but coming from a teacher. Thanks Jerry!