Wine Review – 2006 Plantaze Merlot

This wine is from the Lake Skadar Valley region of Montenegro. I know what you are thinking, where is Montenegro? Well is it a small country in Southeastern Europe that has a coast on the Adriatic Sea. Montenegro shares borders with Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Kosovo and Albania. Also it is on the same latitude as Italy’s Tuscan region, so is makes sense that there could be some good wines coming from this small country. My father-in-law discovered this wine and I am glad he shared it.

Plantaze has been around since 1963 and produces more than just grapes and wine, but for this post we are just going to concentrate on the wine I had. This Merlot is definitively an elegant classic French style wine and is not extremely fruit forward, but a nice smoothly balanced wine. It is deep in color and has aromas of plum along with some floral and herbal notes. On the palate, it is slightly fruity with hints of dark cherry, earth and a touch of spice. It has smooth tannins and ends with a nice soft finish. I was pleasantly surprised considering this region was new to me. It is clear their wine making influence is from the French, but there is also some Italian traits as well. Like most European wines, the alcohol content is low at 12% and that is part of the reason it is so smooth. Also, since this is such a little known wine region, the price is still affordable and if you can find it, it should be under $15 dollars.

Cheers!