Barefoot Merlot

I’ve tried a number of wines from Barefoot Wine and to be honest, I have a love/hate thing for them. I love the affordability of their wines. But I dislike the fact that their wines are non-vintage. I’ve mentioned this before, as well as my position that I don’t expect consistency when there isn’t a vintage denoted. However, the wines I have tasted from Barefoot have been relatively consistent.

Barefoot is definitely mass producing wines and using technology to their advantage to get pretty good results.  They are not a small, family winery with a quaint story about how they do everything by hand using techniques passed from one generation to the next. Often times, wine consumers want to hear those charming stories about producers, but even more often consumers are just looking for some tasty wine that doesn’t lighten the pocketbook too much.

I too will often look for the charming story behind a wine.  But although I don’t get that from Barefoot, I have to give credit where it’s due. Barefoot wines are extremely affordable and a few of them that I’ve tasted have been tasty, including this one. It’s tasty, although not exceptional.

The nose is fairly tight (i.e. there’s not a lot of intensity to the aromas) and it’s relatively simple with soft plum and a delicate perfume. The palate is fruit forward with lot’s of plum and blackberry flavors. Like the nose, it’s simple but satisfying. The tannins are soft and smooth.  It’s an enjoyable wine, without complication.

I won’t say this is an extraordinary Merlot, but it is good. And for the price, it’s great! At a glance some folks might think that a score of 83 isn’t very good—in a world where everyone wants to drink 90+ wines—but this is a very drinkable and enjoyable wine. It lost some points for lacking complexity and intensity, but there are no faults with this wine and I enjoyed it.

Wine: Barefoot
Variety: Merlot
Vintage: N/V
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 83
Price: $6.99