It was a wonderful wine tasting at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan as Korbin Ming, the General Manager of Korbin Kameron from Moonridge Vineyards.  The winery was planted in 2000, and the estate straddles the ridge of Mount Veeder, with part of the estate in Napa County, but the majority being on the Sonoma County side.

There were three Merlot wines being poured and the first was from their Library Collection of Moonridge Vineyards and was their Korbin Kameron Merlot Sonoma Valley 2007 and I had the good fortune to taste and buy this wine originally in 2020 and here are my original notes; “We started the red wines with a selection of their Merlot wines.  The years of the vertical run of the Korbin Kameron Merlot, Moon Mountain District AVA were 2007, 2009 2011 and 2015.  The Moon Mountain AVA is a very new subregion of the Sonoma Valley, as it was only awarded status in 2013.  The wines were all aged for eighteen months in French Oak, of which half was new.  Production of wine was four-hundred-seventy-five-cases each year and easily ten plus years of cellaring would be wonderful.  I am and have always been partial to Merlot wines since my teens, and these were some of the best Merlot wines that I have had with a nose of red fruits and spice, with a taste of lush cherries and they all had a charming silky tannin finish.  At first, I thought maybe there was something wrong with me, as everyone was gushing about 2015, but I just wrapped my arms around the 2007 as I thought it delivered the biggest bang of flavors and sensory temptations.   The finish on the 2007 just would not end, and I am glad that I nursed it, before going on to the newer vintages.”  I might take a moment more and opine that this wine was even more so than before.

We then enjoyed the Korbin Kameron Merlot Moon Mountain District 2018 from Moonridge Vineyards.  When Mitchell Ming began planting the estate, all five red Bordeaux varieties, as well as Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc were selected, after initial soil analysis.  Phil Coturri, the Vineyard Manager has been there since the beginning, and it has been said that no one has more experience farming mountain vineyards in Sonoma with over forty years pioneering organic and biodynamic winegrowing in California.  This wine was aged for eighteen months in French Oak, of which fifty percent was new; with three-hundred-twenty-five-cases produced. A nice deep-garnet color wine that offered notes of cherries, dark berries, alluring scents of cinnamon and cloves.  On the palate this full-bodied and well-balanced wine displayed tones of black cherries, cola, and spices, blended with mellow tannins and a nice medium count finish.

We finished off the round of Merlot wines with their current release of Korbin Kameron Merlot Moon Mountain District 2021 from Moonridge Vineyards.  The fruit is hand-harvested and is aged for eighteen months in French Oak, of which half is new.  There were one hundred and eighty cases of this wine produced.  A rich deep-garnet colored wine that offered notes of black cherries, red currants, lavender, sage, mocha and cedar.  On the palate this full-bodied and well-balanced wine displayed tones of black cherries, cola and mocha blended with firm tannins and ending with a medium-to-long count finish of fruit, spices and terroir.