Bock Merlot, 2002
It’s difficult to avoid to have high expectations if you open a bottle of Merlot from a legendary winemaker even from a not so good vintage. Bock József is one of the best known winemakers who gained his reputation for making some of the revolutionary wines in the nineties (well, with Hungarian standards, of course). I still have a bottle of his Royal Cuvée from 1996, which I found too old 2 years ago when I last opened one, but it’s still nostalgic and an interesting experience. Fortunately even most medium quality red wines’ qality from the new millennium exceed the quality of most “legendary” reds from the nineties. But for those who started to enjoy Hungarian wines in the nineties it’s always gonna be nostalgic to remember those days. But let’s leave nostalgy for another entry, I still keep a dozen or two bottles from that decade so I hope we can discuss them later.
The review
Surprisingly brick color, it looks much older than it is actually. Brick and stewed cherry.
Another surprise to me is the oily texture, the wine is literally slicing in the glass. The wine reminds me of Iporos 2006, a 91 points Parker wine which I did not like that much.
Very ripe cherry taste and lot of wood both is smell and in taste. It’s tannins remain harsh even after an hour. Just like in the nineties. Lot of wood.
I got a bit sentimental in the intro of this post I know. And this wine isn’t even that different from the Bock wines in the nineties. And I know he can do much better than this.
Score:5, 5+
Price: I don’t know how much I paid for it back then. The 2006 costs 13 euros. That would be way too much for the 2002. My perception is that most Bock wines are now overrated. Well, they’ve always been, but some of them are really good at least.
Categories: Bock, Villány, Wine reviews
Tags: 2002, 5, Merlot, Overrated, red
Comments: 1 Comment.
I am realizing that this comment is rather late coming. I just found your blog and as I enjoy it,I have been going thru your posts. I can not agree more on your take on Bock overrating. I have has some wins from here that I liked, including the Merlot 2002, but 2006 was undrinkable.
