But, the point remains nonetheless: California Merlot is almost uniformly flat, lacking in structure and tanin, and sweet to the point of being as cloying as wines like Almaden or Paul Masson 'burgundy' or 'claret' were 40-50 years ago before the varietal revolution. Oh, they have a decent enough nose, but they're devoid of character (thank you San Joaquin Valley varietals programs of the '70s and '80s), have a short entry, blandly flat middle palate, and short to nonexistent finish. When not sweet, sharply acidic where they should be tannic. Faugh!