Occasionally here at Cheapwineratings.com we receive wines that don’t necessarily meet our criteria, meaning they’re not exactly “cheap”. But if we believe these wines may still represent a value to our consumers who may be looking for something a little more special, we’ll certainly pass on our perspective. So when Godwin Family Vineyards sent us a pair of their Sonoma Valley merlots, one from the 2004 vintage and the other from 2005, both at the “suggested” $35 price point, we didn’t pass up the opportunity to sample and review the wines.
Godwin specifically uses the words “Bordeaux varietal” on the back label to reference the blend. While completely accurate, it’s use coupled with a comparison to Pomerol wines should give you an indication of the style that Godwin is aiming for. And at $35 a bottle, if they can “rival” the quality and style of French Pomerol, then it would definitely represent a strong value. Godwin sources merlot grapes from two different vineyards. While 5% of the grapes come the Stagecoach vineyard near Atlas Peak in Napa, 95% of the blend is made up of grapes from the Nelson Vineyard in the foothills around Sonoma Mountain. Winemaker Kerry Damskey ferments the blend in open top tanks for 21 days. Then the wine sees 23 months in 100% French oak barrels, about half of which are new. Production is relatively small at 650 cases.
The 2004 vintage was favorable in Northern California, and while crop yields were about 20 – 50% below normal in some cases, the grapes ripened well, particularly Sonoma-grown merlot, which faired very well in 2004. Sugar levels in the grapes achieved 10% even as most grapes in Sonoma in 2004 were harvested early. The result is a wine with a not-so-Pomerol-like 14.8% alcohol by volume. But it seems to work well with the style that Godwin has produced.
The wine has an absolutely wonderful nose that I would have enjoyed all day long. It’s quite complex, offering rich blackberry and black currant, with sage and cedar. Initially, the wine offers hints of fruitcake or sweet bread that dissipate and get lost as the wine opens up. The wine is quite opaque with a rich purple plum color with garnet hues. On the palate, the wine doesn’t offer overwhelming fruit, but it is well balanced against the lush tannin and acid. It may have displayed some characteristic plum at one point, but the fruit at the moment is decidedly darker with blackberry and currant. The finish is long and expansive with lush cedary tannins lingering for what seems to be minutes.
The wine does a nice job of mimicking a Pomerol, but with a traditional California style all it’s own. Which is to say big alcohol and rich tannins. But when you’re blessed with such ripe fruit as you get from the region, it’s hard not to exploit that. Still I have to applaud the winemaking here, as I found this a very enjoyable wine, both with food and as a quaffer.
But is it a value? Well, I’ll leave that ultimately up for you to decide. But if I were you, I would buy a bottle and stick it in the cellar for a few more years. And if you happen to find the 2004 Godwin Family Vineyards Sonoma County Merlot for less than the suggested $35.00 retail, first let me know, and second, buy 2!
A Salute!
Wine: Godwin Family Vineyards
Variety: Merlot
Vintage: 2004
Alcohol: 14.8%
Rating: 91
Price: $35.00
Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.