May 30, 2023 - Medium-bodied. Plum, black cherry, blackberry. Silky tannins. Some coffee notes on the finish.
November 19, 2021 - Exact same as my last note. Great richness and balance, powerful without ever going over the top, even in a very big modern style. At times the buttery, toasty oak overwhelms the fruit, making the fruit itself somewhat vague, but it's still very present and delicious, with spiced black plums and the like. Lasts effortlessly on day 2 even with only one glass left- this is worthy of short term aging, although it definitely doesn't need it. Prices for this seem to vary wildly- unreal for $30-$40, still a solid buy for $50, $60+ is pushing it.
November 10, 2021 - Got this at an insane closeout price at QFC ($15!?) and I'm sure glad I did. Went to grab one more. I was really impressed by this- would be excellent QPR around the usual $35-$45 price, and still acceptable for $50-$60, although for that price it might be lacking a little...precision? Complexity? In any event, a wonderfully rich wine that doesn't go overboard at all. Pop and pour, consumed over two days. Could age a little bit for sure, but doesn't need it, feels like an early drinker to me.
Great, ripe, oaky nose with loads of spiced plums or currants, buttery toast, red licorice (maybe some black licorice?) and on day two, even a little toasted coconut, like a macaroon. The fruit is very much there, but at times it's slightly overwhelmed by the oak, appearing ripe but also somewhat vague and difficult to truly identify. This didn't really take away from the inviting nose, but it's probably the wine's biggest drawback.
Palate is about the same- loads of dark fruits, although here they show a little more clearly, even dipping its toes into the "cool blue fruit" spectrum, at least on day 1. Day two the oak started to creep into the palate more too, again burying the fruit a bit, but showing beautiful notes of gingerbread and touches of mint (very Christmas!)- already shows very silky tannic structure and although this isn't an acid-driven wine, it's sitting at a solid medium, never flabby. The 14.9% ABV can be felt at times, but it feels well-integrated, warming but not cloying.
Ultimately, although the wine was more expressive (even flagrantly so) on day 2, I *slightly* preferred day 1 when it felt more structured and precise, with clearer, slightly fresher fruit and plenty of expression right on the pop and pour. Felt almost fully in the rich, ripe, modern camp to me, didn't really get any earthiness or savory complexity, but it's done really well here and there was an excellent sense of balance and freshness on day 1. Probably 95 if in the $30 range, more like 93 if closer to $50- prices seem to be all over the place.
October 25, 2021 - Elegant as expected, a bit sweeter than expected.
October 1, 2021 - Good solid wine, approachable now
September 4, 2021 - I was impressed by this wine after the sommelier at the steakhouse announced that they were out of my preferred choice on the wine list, a Ridge Pagani. There were no other suitable old vine Zin blends on the list --though they did have space for 50 different cabs which led to a long conversation with her about priorities and it turns out she also enjoys many good Zin producers but DC steakhouse patrons have yak palates-- so we decided to jump to a meritage. No, this is not as layered or savory as the Pagani. But it is done with a nod to the old world with its feet planted in the new. If you like quality Zin blends, as I do, but find yourself drinking with boring cab freaks, get new friends.
PNP. The black and red fruits jumped out of the glass on the first few sips balanced by bright acids and some herbal notes. Then by the second glass, it shut down pretty hard and no amount of swirling would open it back up.
It's always hard to know what to think when that happens but, given its very young age, I think it just really needs two more years in bottle before coming back to life and will probably be very good for 8 years after that, maybe more.
July 17, 2021 - Really happy with this. I always approach a Meritage with trepidation because Bordeaux is my wine of choice, and CA rarely lives up. While this still doesn't hit the complexity I love about Bordeaux, it was much more elegant that typical blends in the same price range. Dark fruit, dark chocolate, cedar and vanilla, with a mild herbaceous note on the back end. The fruit was restrained just enough to let some of the other flavors shine.