The best wines I've had are all Cabernets, but they are way too expensive:
Opus One '98
BV Georges de Latour '97
Silver Oak '96
Beringer Reserve '97
Mondavi Reserve '91 and '97
Merlot is good wine as well, but it has a little less structure. I think the wines that you are drinking (Forest Glen and Fetzer) don't spend a lot of time aging in oak. That may contribute to their early demise. You'll just have to drink it faster!
Of course, some really old Bordeaux (like turn of the century and early 20th) sometimes has to be consumed in MINUTES before it goes bad.
For Merlot drinkers, I highly recommend Washington Merlots. Try Chateau Ste Michelle, Columbia Crest, Snoqualmie, Hedges, Canoe Ridge, L'Ecole 41, and Waterbrook just to name a few. And, if like Washington Merlot, you have got to try Washington Syrah. This is the next craze to hit the wine scene, like Merlot was a few years ago..........
Scott Collins
Newcastle, WA