The 2007 Merlot Reserve is a glass-coating opaque purple. The nose offers up coffee, mocha, and cherry leading to a wine with no hard edges and plenty of character. If all Merlots offered this much pleasure, Pinot Noir would never have become so popular. Santa Ema makes reliably excellent wines at fair prices from the bottom to the top of its portfolio.Importer: TGIC Imports, Woodland Hills, CA; Tel: (800) 924-0030

Dense and dark, but buried with marshmallow and cloying sweet-oak flavors and aromas. Tastes rather funky and artificial, with vanilla, oak, cream and resin, but very little true fruit.——M.S.(12/1/2009)—— 81