From the director of The Godfather comes a merlot you can hardly refuse. At first sip it is almost rich enough to be a Cabernet, but after a glass or so, it settles back down to its expected tannic lightness. Definitely one of the better merlots I’ve had.

This wine was OK.

Two non-wine-related notes, just to round out what would otherwise be three wine postings in the past week (it’s been a slow week):

• The host serving this wine also introduced me to the game of Blokus, which I can best describe as a board game that combines elements of Minesweeper, Tetris, Scrabble, and Othello. It comes in boards of varying sizes for mentally challenging fun for two to four players of all ages.
• It rained twice this week, with gusty winds. Hardly blog-worthy, but for the fact that I am pleased to report that my new vented-canopy, auto-open-close Brookstone umbrella lived up to all of my hype and expectations.