The Little Penguin Merlot
The Little Penguin Merlot
Vintage: 2007
Region: South Eastern Australia
Varietal: Merlot
Alcohol: 13.5%
Price: $11.99
I often find myself wandering through my local wine market, perusing the bottles that line the shelves. I find myself picking up bottles, reading the labels and examining the packaging and wondering what makes the average consumer choose it over the countless others in the sea of similarly priced products. When it comes to wine, finding the answers to these questions is critical for a producer to make their product desirable. I take requests for reviews and was asked by my executive editor to review some wine that is a bit lower on the price scale. I am only happy to oblige and after talking to a fellow lover of the juice, I took on the task of reviewing one of his entry points into the world of wine, The Little Penguin Merlot. I know little to nothing about the producer, the terroir or their methods and that they produce 6 different varietials of flashy, fun and approachable wine.
Upon the first swish of this wine, and peer at it through the light, this Merlot shows a clear vibrant red tone not like wine but more like sort of like a bit richer glass of strawberry Kool-Aid. The first sniff gives way to a sort of fortified fruit punch smell, like one of those wine coolers that has lost all its fizz. The smell of sugar also is quite punctuated, indicating to me that imbibing too much of this might lead to a dreaded red wine hangover. Upon the first taste, an alcoholic fruit punch flavor really shows; a lot like Hi-C fruit punch from back in the day. Again, the sugar in this wine is really evident and I can safely say that this Merlot is like none of the others that I have recently tasted. I am sure this wine strikes a chord with lovers of sweet white wines who want the exact same type of experience presented as a red. Following completely through, the finish falls flat and I don’t find myself getting overly excited for the follow up taste.
Sadly, this little merlot lacks the structure and complexity that matter to even be considered something exciting even as a table wine. Fear not though friends, wines like this are excellent to have on hand or to have been received as a gift, especially if you are entertaining, since wine like it is best served at the end of the night, when your guests may not be as discerning as they were when they arrived. Personally, I would suggest that for $12, the average consumer could buy something of much more considerable substance and style that may not have the bright blue labeling or the cute little penguin such as examples like Chilean Cabs, Spanish Rioja or an entry level Beaujolais.
67 points
- The Little Penguin Merlot
- by Adrian Bryksa
- Published on September 24th, 2008
More from Adrian Bryksa:
-
Rosemount Estate Show Reserve Shiraz
For this months review, I thought it was time to visit my cellar again. When I buy wine to cellar, I usually purchase it with an event in mind. It is a on the rare occasion that pull something out of the cellar to drink on my own and that’s what happened here.
-
Best of 2005
The city itself is huge with tons of interesting architecture and sights to see, but the best thing I found was that it was warm and humid and the people were so friendly there.
-
2008 Rocky Mountain Food and Wine Festival
For the third straight year, editors from Reading for New Times attended the Calgary stop of the Rocky Mountain Food and Wine Festival. The festival brings Calgarians a taste of some of the finest wines, beers and spirits being offered in the city……
-
Book Review: Simple Truths
It’s not a new book or one that is burning down the best seller lists. Put simply, it is a guide to life written by an individual with a PHd in Theology and Art.
-
Travaglini Gattinara Riserva
Typically, this is a 90 + point rated wine from Wine Spectator. It is an excellent example of an outstanding medium bodied Nebbiolo from Northern Piedmont in Italy, delivering a slightly hard candy, floral bouquet with a orangish hue.
-
Edge Cabernet Sauvignon
Buying wine on tips is not unlike the stock market, sometimes there are stars but more often than not, there are dogs. Is Edge a star or a dog? Keep reading to find out.
Other recent features:
-
Sónar 2010 – Barcelona, Spain
The festival attracts a lot of outsiders, but the Mediterranean, Spanish and more specifically Catalan nature of the people makes the festival what it is. Catalan people are passionate and this passion is infectious. The atmosphere is electric in Barcelona as a city and heightened by music and intoxicants at Sónar.
-
Summer Party Naval Styles at Seven RestoLounge
Oysters, like wine are affected by terroir and these Miyagi’s flavor profiles ranged with one showing a cleaner, almost tropical profile and the other being more salty, marine driven. As I was devouring the seemingly endless plates put in front of us, I sipped on a glass of fine sauvignon blanc.
-
R4NT Radio March 2010
R4NT Radio March 2010 um wow it’s been far too long since the last edition edition, featuring: Hector Hernandez, The Infesticons, Blockhead, Gramatik, Emika, Thunderheist, Parov Stelar, Eddy Meets Yannah, Anti-Pop Consortium, The Slew, Lighterthief, Andreya Triana, Parasyte Woman, Mathon, Venetian Snares, and Funki Porcini.
-
O Restaurant & Lounge revisited
Calgary has a diverse set of urban communities, most of which have the ubiquitous strip mall watering hole. In the South West community of Marda Loop, a reinvention of this paradigm has been established.
-
Predictions 2010.. and beyond!
So 2010 eh? Almost but not quite (no year zero they say) another decade? It seems like just yesterday that the world was waiting for Y2K. R4NT started publishing in March 2001, so we’re not quite 10 years old yet, but in internet years we are already a senior citizen.
-
Invictus
No matter what, the reality of Nelson Mandela is something that deserves screen time. Should this film even remotely intrigue the masses to take interest in this figure, the world would likely benefit greatly from it.
