Wine of the week: Broadside Merlot 2019

We celebrate the New Year with an affordable and professional California red

Quality, affordable California wine – let alone quality, cheap California wine – has long been in short supply. The reasons vary; the results are too often sappy and soft wines that really don’t taste like wine.

So, in 2022, I made a conscious effort to look for California wine that met the blog’s criteria, but wasn’t from McManis. One of the results: two wines from Broadside, the cabernet sauvignon and, today, the merlot.

Broadside’s 2019 merlot ($14, purchased, 14.5%) is a well-executed California red that does something that doesn’t happen often anymore. It tastes like merlot; most of the varietal at this price are either sweet, made to taste like cabernet sauvignon, or both.

Instead, it has merlot’s characteristics, even at such a high alcohol level. That means it’s less rigid in structure – call it rounder instead of pointed, and noticeably less tannic. There is some black fruit and even a little spice. All in all, a nicely made bottle of wine, even if the company that turns out Broadside also pumps out shelves and shelves of supermarket plonk (as well as the surprisingly pleasant Stephen Vincent wines).

This is food wine, most notably red meat. But it would be amiss with a weeknight meatloaf, either.