Rich, delicious full-bodied black cherry fruit with cassis and blackberry flavors, excellent structure, ample acidity and finish, thick texture, tannins softening
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Decanted for approximately an hour. Popped this one for Kimmy who worked a Melka event but didn't get to taste any of his wine. Beautiful dark purple hue. Jammy black fruits and oak on the nose with some ETOH heat. A bit of an oak bomb on the palate but still tasty just the same. Still young and somewhat angular. This is a very big wine in the typical Melka style and obviously very well made. Just needs a bit more time and a longer decant to bring it more into balance. Hold.
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I drank this as part of my barrel sample tasting of the 2018 Oliver's Blend. So this note could be colored by that experience. The color is a dark purple with a wet rockiness on the nose mixed with currants. On the palate this is so soft and well rounded. Great balance and the tannins are starting to integrate (but will get better).
After tasting the 2018, this just feel so much better integrated and put together. Soft and balanced. But that might have just been because the 2018 was so young out of barrel.
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This dusty and woodsy wine needs a good hour or two of air in order to show some of its fruit (underneath all the wood). I confess to skepticism about many Cabernets out of Alexander Valley; almost like the Paso of northern California, it seems to produce powerful but rustic Cabernets that lack a mid-palate (or, dare I say, integration). Melka is quite talented, but this wine isn't anywhere near worth the price tag. OK, there's my hot take, onto the wine...
Cherry red in color and medium in body, the wine offers camp-fire inflected aromas of burnt wood, fresh embers, and a little stewed boysenberry. Tastes of dried blueberry, olive, leather, and cedar, with a prickly and grainy finish (think cold tea). Blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Merlot. 14.9% alcohol. Maybe wait a year or two to see if this comes together, but the current makeup of the wine (with intense wood dominating diffuse fruit) makes me skeptical. Decant at least an hour or two.
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Currant, plum, black cherry, black soil, forest floor, mulch, and some pencil shavings. A darker, earthier profile, with medium speed across the palate; finishes a little bitter and gritty. A pleasant and intriguing wine, if not a little coarse in its overall delivery.
Hold for another couple of years in hopes it will develop a more even-keeled distribution of flavor.
5/20/2023 - kosdogger Does not like this wine:
Really find this hard to drink. It’s heavy and sweet and just not my speed.
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1/6/2023 - Amerique wrote: 95 Points
Rich, delicious full-bodied black cherry fruit with cassis and blackberry flavors, excellent structure, ample acidity and finish, thick texture, tannins softening
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7/5/2022 - Vineyard Boy Likes this wine: 95 Points
The wine is huge. This is me reminding myself not to open another bottle for 5-10 years minimum!
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4/8/2022 - Bodyfxr wrote: 93 Points
Decanted for approximately an hour. Popped this one for Kimmy who worked a Melka event but didn't get to taste any of his wine. Beautiful dark purple hue. Jammy black fruits and oak on the nose with some ETOH heat. A bit of an oak bomb on the palate but still tasty just the same. Still young and somewhat angular. This is a very big wine in the typical Melka style and obviously very well made. Just needs a bit more time and a longer decant to bring it more into balance. Hold.
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5/3/2020 - jnocera Likes this wine: 94 Points
I drank this as part of my barrel sample tasting of the 2018 Oliver's Blend. So this note could be colored by that experience. The color is a dark purple with a wet rockiness on the nose mixed with currants. On the palate this is so soft and well rounded. Great balance and the tannins are starting to integrate (but will get better).
After tasting the 2018, this just feel so much better integrated and put together. Soft and balanced. But that might have just been because the 2018 was so young out of barrel.
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12/31/2019 - jhanne8 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Beautiful nose. Big wine.
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12/23/2019 - jhanne8 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very enjoyable but poor QPR. Oaky nose. Heat.
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9/23/2019 - msuwine wrote: 90 Points
This dusty and woodsy wine needs a good hour or two of air in order to show some of its fruit (underneath all the wood). I confess to skepticism about many Cabernets out of Alexander Valley; almost like the Paso of northern California, it seems to produce powerful but rustic Cabernets that lack a mid-palate (or, dare I say, integration). Melka is quite talented, but this wine isn't anywhere near worth the price tag. OK, there's my hot take, onto the wine...
Cherry red in color and medium in body, the wine offers camp-fire inflected aromas of burnt wood, fresh embers, and a little stewed boysenberry. Tastes of dried blueberry, olive, leather, and cedar, with a prickly and grainy finish (think cold tea). Blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Merlot. 14.9% alcohol. Maybe wait a year or two to see if this comes together, but the current makeup of the wine (with intense wood dominating diffuse fruit) makes me skeptical. Decant at least an hour or two.
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1/11/2019 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Winorama: A winter in Wineland III; 1/4/2019-1/13/2019 (Portland/Willamette, Eureka, Napa): Have thus far appreciated a lot of the wines I've seen coming from Alexander Valley. This is similar in style. Very floral on the nose. Darker fruits. Lots of black cherry. There's some restraint to this wine. Chewy tannins at the end. Give it time.
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11/24/2018 - csimm wrote: 91 Points
Currant, plum, black cherry, black soil, forest floor, mulch, and some pencil shavings. A darker, earthier profile, with medium speed across the palate; finishes a little bitter and gritty. A pleasant and intriguing wine, if not a little coarse in its overall delivery.
Hold for another couple of years in hopes it will develop a more even-keeled distribution of flavor.
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