Today we review another big red from Australia, which can be had for $15 a bottle.
Bottom line: Does not taste like merlot and too sweet for yours truly. Not recommended.
This 2008 merlot from Australia’s McLaren Vale (or valley) was recommended by a wine expert I have a lot of respect for. It has 14.9% alcohol, so you know it’s serious. However, it also has a very non-merlot taste to it. So it’s seriously “something”, but I’m not sure what. The expert said that it tastes like old vine zinfandel.
As for whether it’s enjoyable to drink, to me, it’s very heavy, very sweet, and doesn’t have enough complexity, tannins, spice, etc. to balance the sugar load. Its primary flavor struck me as powerful and unusual for any wine, and I couldn’t put my finger on what it tasted like. What WAS this mystery flavor?
To be fair, I know two people who enjoy this rusty red. They call it fruit-forward, big, “on the sweet side,” jammy, and a “jelly jar.” Hmmm… jelly jar… maybe that mystery flavor was a sort of alcohol-heavy orange marmalade. Whatever it was, this wine just didn’t work for me.
Next!
Wineguider wine reviews 
The Gotham Merlot is truly terrible in my opinion. I think the flavors/fruits you were trying to pinpoint are raisin, fig and prune. The nose is even worse – it’s briny and salty, like a jar of dill pickles mixed with a bit of jelly/jam.
Yeah I am not missing my encounter with this one. I think it should be called a “merlot”, with the quotes.