The Velvet Devil Merlot 2022 is a wine I found selling for $9.99 at a local wine shop. This wine was vinted and bottled by Charles Smith Wines, but Charles Smith has not owned this brand for years.
The Story
Charles Smith Wines were massive hits in the 2010s. He made 100-point $100 wines and popular value wines.
He sold the brand, which included Kung Fu Girl Riesling and Eva Chardonnay, to Constellation Brands. After a while, Constellation Brands sold the brand to The Wine Group, and it was recently sold again.
When this wine was still part of the original Charles Smith Wines, it was the least expensive oak barrel-aged Merlot.
In the meantime, the next owners didn’t provide detailed production notes. The new owners are/were quality companies, I do not think they didn’t uphold the quality standards. But, the proof will be in the glass.
The Velvet Devil Merlot 2022 is sourced from vineyards in the Columbia Valley of Washington. It is 89% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 1% Malbec, which would qualify this wine to be called a Bordeaux blend.
The tasting notes do mention flavors that are derived from oak aging, so it is possibly still barrel-aged.
This is now a dated reference, but in the movie “Sideways,” a main character loved Pinot Noir and hated Merlot. The movie caused a collapse in Merlot sales.
Columbia Valley is not known for its Pinot Noir, but it does do Merlot well, and the Velvet Devil Merlot is Charles Smith’s attempt to make Merlot “sexy” again.
The alcohol content is balanced, by today’s standards, at 13.5%.
The Velvet Devil Merlot 2022 Tasting Notes
The color is strawberry jelly with serious black highlights. The nose is dark and rich; there are notes of blackberries, toasted almonds, plum, soft spice, faint mocha, and licorice. The Velvet Devil Merlot 2022 is medium-bodied, smooth, and rich with interesting flavor.
This Merlot tastes like blackberry, bitter dark chocolate, spice with a little bite, cooling blueberry, a light tough of herbs or is that cigar tobacco? The tannis are sweet and the acidity gives the wine structure for the flavors to unfold.
The Summary
- The Velvet Devil Merlot 2022 is still a quality value-price Merlot.
- Don’t know if they brought sexy Merlot back, but they brought back good value Merlot.
