Carm and I have been eating in a lot more lately, biding our time till our next child comes in a month or so and takes all of our time. This is a good an excuse as any to drink through our wine supply, [with me taking the lions share of course.] The dinner menu tonight included chicken lasagna, a loaf of oven baked crusty garlic bread and this tasty 2009 Meritage from Napa Family Vineyards ["NFV"]. www.napafamilyvineyards.com/
Technically only sparkling wines from Champagne can be labeled Champagne, similarly Bordeaux can only be labeled as such if it comes from Bordeaux France. The French take two month long holidays per year allowing their industries to grind to a halt, but protect to the death the integrity of the wine trademarks... [insert your favorite French joke here] A "Meritage" in a nutshell is a Bordeaux style blended wine that does not come from the Bordeaux region of France. I enjoy a good Bordeaux and this Meritage is a very tasty California take on a Bordeaux. Considering that buying a Meritage will save you $3-5 per bottle over their French counterparts it also makes for a great value.
This NFV Meritage has a subtle bouquet. The Meritage has a wonderful clear garnet hue in the glass. On the taste you get the wonderful complex explosion of dark fruit on the tongue, followed by a smooth aftertaste. Carm felt that the alcohol was too stiff for this wine; I thought the alcohol profile was bold but not over the top. All in all a very enjoyable weekday wine from our friends from northern California.
I also don't get the smoky, tobacco, dry leaf taste that is usually very present in bord... This is actually a very popular blend in Ensenada. I'll fed-ex you some from down here and you can compare the cold crisp morning grapes from napa to the dryer intense grapes from Ensenada.
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