2005 Cosentino Winery ‘The Merlot’
Mission Codename: The Man
Operative: Agent Red
Objective: Wine Spies Operatives love a great Merlot, but they also love a great wine at a great price. Send Agent Red to (re)infiltrate Cosentino Winery to investigate and retrieve their great The Merlot – with a great QPR
Mission Status: Accomplished!
Current Winery: Cosentino Winery
Wine Subject: 2005 The Merlot – Napa County
Winemaker: Mitch Cosentino
Winery Backgrounder: We had our sights squarely set on the Cosentino Winery since before we officially founded The Wine Spies organization. Agent Red’s very favorite wine was made by Mitch Cosentino, but the winery proved elusive. It too a long time to infiltrate the winery, but Agent Red’s perseverance paid off. Today, he brings you an outstanding Merlotmade by Mitch himself. Read Agent Red’s tasting notes and mission report below.
Varietal Backgrounder: To true wine lovers, Merlot is one of the finest wine varietals in the world. Today, Merlot continues to sell in record numbers across the US, outpacing all other varietals. Merlot is sincere, food-fabulous wine for serious wine drinkers. If you think that Merlot is not for you, forget everything that you think you know about Merlot and embrace this great example.
Wine Spies Tasting Profile:
Look – Dark garnet with a darkened but still clear core. Showing garnet highlights that extend through to the edges, this wine appears bouncy when swirled. When it settles, it leaves behind two levels of chubby legs that take a while to emerge before the slowly crawl down the glass
Smell – Bold but not overpowering with a mix of black-fruit jam, exotic spice, licorice and sweet cedar, layered atop complex aromas of earth, floral violet, dark river rock and a hint of subtle eucalyptus
Feel – This wine starts soft and has a slightly dry and somewhat firm attack. The fine grain of the tannins linger through to the back of the mouth as hints of spice and dark minerals hit both the tip of the tongue and the back of the palate Balanced acidity is framed by the minerality of the wine.
Taste – This bright wine leads with tart black cherry, blackberry, smoky plum and a touch of strawberry – and then shows exotic spices and black pepper. These are followed by oak, coffee bean and minerals
Finish – Medium-long in length with lingering flavors of smoky berry, black cherry and plum. These are reinforced by a slight earthiness, spice and soft oak
Conclusion – A great Merlot, this offering by Mitch Cosentino delivers delicious Napa Valley fruit in an affordably-priced package that is hard to resist. Mitch Cosentino has been making Merlot since 1980, and his experience shines through in this wine. With balanced acidity and great flavors, this deeply aromatic wine is a pleasure to inhale and to roll around the mouth as you discern all of its fun and tasty characteristics. If you are a fan of Merlot, this offering is certain to please the palate – and the wallet. We paired a bottle with a down to earth meal of beans, polenta and Italian sausage. The wine paired beautifully, acting as a compliment to the meal, rather than a competitor as some Merlot may tend to do. Our hearty kudos to our friend Mitch Cosentino, for knocking another one out of the park with today’s special value!
Mission Report:
Cosentino Winery has two important distinctions; First, my favorite wine of all time was made by Mitch Cosentino, head of winemaking for the winery. Second, the Cosentino Winery was the most elusive and difficult to bring into the Wine Spies fold.
I first fell in love with Cosentino wines while on a (very rare for me) vacation. Agent Sparkle and I had just wrapped up a mission in Central America and, with a few days left before we were due to report back in, we decided to head to Costa Rica.
Once checked in to our hotel, Hotel Casa Marella, we decided to go for a swim in the infinity pool. The pool, which overlooked the Pacific Ocean, offered a spectacular view of the ocean and the town below. I was in heaven.
Heaven got even better when Agent Sparkle arrived, a bottle of wine in hand, and a giant smile on her face. It was twilight, so I could not make out the label. She opened the bottle, poured and handed me a glass. I took it eagerly.
On inhaling the wine, I knew that it was not a Chilean wine (the most common wine found in Costa Rica). I also knew that it was an exceptional wine, maybe even a California wine. One sip, and the heaven I was in got even better.
“What’s this,” I asked.
“This? Oh, its just that bottle of Cosentino we’ve been saving”
I was shocked, but very pleasantly surprised. How had she managed to smuggle this bottle along on this trip? Had she sent it ahead? That did not make sense, as this part of our trip was improvised.
Rather than press her for details, I simply enjoyed the wine. Drinking wine in a swimming pool overlooking the ocean is a wonderful thing to do. Add a Cosentino wine and the wonderful becomes far more so!
Getting back to how difficult it was to infiltrate Cosentio, I will say that it the delay may have just come down to poor spy-craft. I was just knocking on the wrong doors at the winery. For nearly two years.
So, dear Operative, this mission report is really my Mea Culpa. I did a bad job and it took me way too long to bring you a Cosentino wine. This mission is also my way of making it up to you! Today’s Zinfandel, made by master winemaker, Mitch Cosentino, is a great wine at a remarkable price.
The winery loves what we Wine Spies are up to and they allowed us special access to their wine archives. We pulled out today’s wine for you as the first of what we expect to be a handful of additional Cosentio wines that we’ll bring you this year.
A special thanks to Agent S2 (our new inside man at the winery) and to Mitch Cosentino for hosting us at our private tasting recently. It was great fun to hang out with you both – and to listen to Mitch tell us everything about wine, growing and winemaking. We learned a ton and we loved drinking through your wines with you!
Wine Spies Vineyard Check:
The location of Cosentino Winery can be seen in this satellite photo.
