Substantial bottle with deep punt hints at quality.
Poured directly into sealed carafe with large base and dimple. Tasting from wide mouth bowl.
Garnet with purple tones. Semi translucent.
5 minutes: Nose opens with fruit and a touch of old world. Moves to tar and some smoke, add bell pepper that lasts only a few moments. Palate shows dark berries and currents with some astringency
15 minutes: Nose becoming more Bordeaux-ish. More amalgamated. Palate sweetens and hints at menthol.
45 minutes: The smoke transforms to barrel toast on the sniff, and if iron had zest like a lemon then let's add that, a tangy minerality. Menthol effusing. On the palate, sweet tanginess, fruit re-exerting. Astringency turning to dryness. Good drinking window.
Unless there is another evolution at 1.5 hours plus, this wine has effectively revealed itself and settled out.
Finish is not opulent but sufficient. Lacks something on the back of the tongue, and a slight watery quality, but it coats the mouth and offers a nice dryness.
Pairing: Thinking this bottle would go very nicely with any oriental dish with dark sauce and some heat. Mongolian beef? Szechuan shrimp? Pair it like a young Bordeaux and you'll enjoy.
Very nice and interesting wine, especially for under $20US. This is why we are Havens fans.
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Decanted about an hour and wine really opened up. Pleasant red berry nose with black & red fruit flavors. Enough tannin to give it good structure and balance. Drinking quite nice now.
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Color: medium ruby -> medium ruby rim. Fairly nondescript nose of vanilla, oak, berry fruit. Palate came across as fruit forward and not particularly complex. Moderately tannic and good acid level though. Would certainly be adequate for a nonexpensive restaurant wine but looking for something more impressive for home consumption. Of course, at $17, it didn't break the bank to give it a try. Hoping for more, but shouldn't have been surprised by what was in the bottle.
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I have to admit that this is very tasty....and fair to say that it's well made. But it's a wallop of fruit with a lot of oak. The oak would probably be over the top for some, but I'll chalk this up to a guilty pleasure for now.
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Havens delivers solid wine all the time. They are one the best values for the dollar around. This wine is fruit forward, which we like, but has interest and depth, and a twinge of that Napa thing. For $17 Bonnie and I think it's a terrific buy. As we've said before, we will buy Havens based on name alone, and this Meritage is another example of why that remains true.
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Tough call here -- big, fruity red, with a nice whiff of oak and vanilla on the pop. It's mouth-filling, soft, and pleasurable, but there's not much else. It's one of those guilty pleasure wines. At $18 from WTSO, the price is very fair, but would be much better under $15. The problem is, there are no Napas like that any longer!
Update: day 3, very little change after re-corking on day 1. Fruit still most prominent, with sweet vanilla oaky notes in the background. I would not advise for people who like the more austere take on Bordeaux varietals. This wine is built for easy drinking pleasure.
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1/9/2023 - Davidalan wrote: 85 Points
I cellared too long but still a decent drink. The tannins are basically gone. Fruit forward but no staying finish. May improve with more decanting.
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12/30/2020 - Davidalan wrote: 85 Points
Maybe with some decanting it’ll take on some character.
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3/28/2019 - Davidalan wrote: 82 Points
Not a lot of character.
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11/2/2015 - sellerscellar wrote:
Consistent w/prior notes
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10/30/2014 - Tim and Bonnie Likes this wine: 88 Points
Substantial bottle with deep punt hints at quality.
Poured directly into sealed carafe with large base and dimple. Tasting from wide mouth bowl.
Garnet with purple tones. Semi translucent.
5 minutes: Nose opens with fruit and a touch of old world. Moves to tar and some smoke, add bell pepper that lasts only a few moments. Palate shows dark berries and currents with some astringency
15 minutes: Nose becoming more Bordeaux-ish. More amalgamated. Palate sweetens and hints at menthol.
45 minutes: The smoke transforms to barrel toast on the sniff, and if iron had zest like a lemon then let's add that, a tangy minerality. Menthol effusing. On the palate, sweet tanginess, fruit re-exerting. Astringency turning to dryness. Good drinking window.
Unless there is another evolution at 1.5 hours plus, this wine has effectively revealed itself and settled out.
Finish is not opulent but sufficient. Lacks something on the back of the tongue, and a slight watery quality, but it coats the mouth and offers a nice dryness.
Pairing: Thinking this bottle would go very nicely with any oriental dish with dark sauce and some heat. Mongolian beef? Szechuan shrimp? Pair it like a young Bordeaux and you'll enjoy.
Very nice and interesting wine, especially for under $20US. This is why we are Havens fans.
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3/16/2014 - mardan899 Likes this wine: 87 Points
Dark ink, Medium finish good weekday quaffer. Used it with a pot roast recipe and drank the rest with meal.
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1/19/2014 - Wrkolbeck wrote: 90 Points
Decanted about an hour and wine really opened up. Pleasant red berry nose with black & red fruit flavors. Enough tannin to give it good structure and balance. Drinking quite nice now.
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11/14/2013 - BVal wrote: 87 Points
Color: medium ruby -> medium ruby rim. Fairly nondescript nose of vanilla, oak, berry fruit. Palate came across as fruit forward and not particularly complex. Moderately tannic and good acid level though. Would certainly be adequate for a nonexpensive restaurant wine but looking for something more impressive for home consumption. Of course, at $17, it didn't break the bank to give it a try. Hoping for more, but shouldn't have been surprised by what was in the bottle.
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10/13/2013 - wirelesswine wrote: 89 Points
I have to admit that this is very tasty....and fair to say that it's well made. But it's a wallop of fruit with a lot of oak. The oak would probably be over the top for some, but I'll chalk this up to a guilty pleasure for now.
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8/24/2013 - Tim and Bonnie wrote: 88 Points
Havens delivers solid wine all the time. They are one the best values for the dollar around. This wine is fruit forward, which we like, but has interest and depth, and a twinge of that Napa thing. For $17 Bonnie and I think it's a terrific buy. As we've said before, we will buy Havens based on name alone, and this Meritage is another example of why that remains true.
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5/8/2013 - BBinSC wrote: 88 Points
Tough call here -- big, fruity red, with a nice whiff of oak and vanilla on the pop. It's mouth-filling, soft, and pleasurable, but there's not much else. It's one of those guilty pleasure wines. At $18 from WTSO, the price is very fair, but would be much better under $15. The problem is, there are no Napas like that any longer!
Update: day 3, very little change after re-corking on day 1. Fruit still most prominent, with sweet vanilla oaky notes in the background. I would not advise for people who like the more austere take on Bordeaux varietals. This wine is built for easy drinking pleasure.
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