California merlot ripe for a comeback

There is no doubting that 2005 is a great vintage for Bordeaux's merlot-dominated wines - when all manner of wineries succeed from the fanciest such as Chateau Petrus, which sell upwards of $1,000 a bottle, to Chateau Franc Mayne, which sells in the $35 to $50 category. And wine drinkers are going to be flocking to those wines.

But, here is the rub. The 2005 vintage in Pomerol and St. Emilion, those parts of the prestigious Bordeaux region that lie across the river from the famous city, has produced very ripe wines whose California-like roundness and richness is atypical. Moreover, the popular cry that California wines are too ripe and sweet now applies to 2005 in Pomerol and St. Emilion.