A disappointing performance from one of California's finest Merlot producers, the 1986 Merlot Reserve Estate reveals a murky, garnet color, and a maderized, disjointed nose of ginger, spice, and vegetables. Rustic and coarse, with huge tannin dominating the moderate fruit and glycerin levels, age has not been at all kind to this effort. The tasting notes for this section are from two single blind tastings, one conducted in May, 1996, in California, and the other in June, 1996, in Baltimore.