Reviews & Ratings

2002 Lambert Bridge Winery Merlot

Winery: Lambert Bridge Winery

Vintage: 2002

Wine Name/Vineyard:

Wine Category: Merlot

Grape blend: 81% Merlot, 13% Cab, 5% CF, & 1% Mal

Bottle size: 750 ml

Region: Sonoma County

State or country: CA

Price: $24

Cases produced: 9,328

KWG Score: 90.5 (based on 2 reviews)

Ken's Wine Rating: Very Good+ (93.99-90)

Review date: October 15, 2006

Wine Review: My first suggestion for this wine is to make a big swirl and take a long sniff of the bouquet of this wine. It smells of sweet cherries and invites you to take a sip. On the palate you will find a medium bodied, well balanced wine with great merlot flavors that taper off to a refined and nice dry finish. Enjoy - Ken

Winemaker Notes: 2002 was an ideal vintage in Sonoma County. Moderate weather conditions allowed the grapes to experience a "long hang time" to develop rich flavors and ripe, supple tannins. Merlot is the flagship varietal for Lambert Bridge and winemaker Julia Iantosca has again captured the essence of Lambert Bridge’s signature wine. With this vintage our winemaking focus is shifting to smaller production lots using more concentrated fruit. The resulting wine demonstrates flavors of ripe plum, red berry and spice. While the composition may vary slightly from vintage to vintage, this Bordeaux style blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Malbec continues to produce a full-bodied wine with refined tannins and rich, velvety fruit flavors. Smooth, round and radiant, this wine displays bright fruit character allowing it to be partnered with a wide range of foods. Pair with Sonoma County Spring lamb, grilled sun-dried tomato sausage or seared Ahi tuna with Kalamata olive vinaigrette.

Buy it: Use 1000 Corks to find stores that sell Merlot.