I love a sale! And I love a sale on a great red wine!! Unfortunately, my $29.99 bottle of Estancia Meritage 2007 Reserve was on sale for $19.99 for too brief a period for me to drink it and come back for more at the same price. It was the perfect accompaniment to an all-homemade celebratory dinner featuring liver pate, beef tenderloin, and pineapple upside down cake.
So, next time, how will I know this sale is as good as a sale on a Coach purse or a Bruno Magli pair of shoes? Here are my future clues: 1) it’s a substantial discount; $10 on a $30 bottle of wine definitely says “take a chance on me”, 2) the label includes “reserve” on it; sometimes that is nothing more than marketing strategy to entice the buyer but you might get lucky and buy a bottle where the term is regulated and therefore, means something; 3) the label includes a listing of the grapes and the percentage of their use. In this case, 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 12% Petit Verdot. I already know that I tend to like blends better than varietals. FYI – the term varietal describes wine made from a single grape variety, i.e. Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot or Chardonnay – you get the idea.
Clue #4) the sign in the store said “Rocky recommends.” Rocky is one of the staff at Cap N’ Cork in Covington Plaza who knows what he’s talking about based on the success of this recommendation; I’ll be certain to follow his picks. In fact, when I went in search of more Estancia on sale, I found a Rocky recommendation for Colby Red, 2009 Red Blend for $10.99. Colby Red, named after the winemaker’s son Colby, dedicates a portion of its sales to heart research and heart disease awareness in recognition of Colby’s heart disease and successful open heart surgeries at age 10. The website, www.colbyred.com, calls it “a flavorful California cuvee of Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Shiraz, Merlot & Petite Sirah.” FYI - “cuvee” is often a more reliable term than “reserve.” I have no idea why the winemaker’s website uses “cuvee” but does not include it on the label.
Clue #5) the Estancia label said “Meritage.” Meritage rhymes with heritage; do not pronounce as if you think its French. It’s a combination of “merit” and “heritage” and was invented by a group of Napa Valley and Sonoma County California winemakers hoping to distinguish their blended product in the mind of consumers from the heavily marketed varietals, namely French Bordeaux. If your wine is a varietal, you must use 76-100% of that one grape variety. At less than 75% of one grape variety, your wine is labeled “table wine” which we can all agree isn’t much of a marketing term. To recognize the quality that is a blended wine from Bordeaux grapes, these American winemakers formed the Meritage Association in 1988. Re-named The Meritage Alliance, it now has more than 280 wineries throughout the United States and six countries.
As with any society, there are rules. First, Meritage only refers to wines crafted from specific Bordeaux grape varieties. A red Meritage must be a blend of at least two (originally three) of these five Bordeaux grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, or Malbec. Carmenere is also allowed as it is considered the “lost” Bordeaux varietal having been re-discovered living in Chile masquerading as a Malbec grapevine. White Meritage wines must use a combination of two of the following: Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, and a later addition to the list - Muscadelle du Bordalais, aka Sauvignon Vert.
No variety may make up more than 90% of the blend. Originally, the Association imposed a strict requirement that the Meritage name could only be used on the most expensive or second most expensive wine produced at the winery. Today, that is a strong recommendation. Based on Estancia’s website http://www.estanciaestates.com/, the Meritage Reserve is one of their three high-end wines and the only one to carry the term Meritage.
The Meritage Alliance press release for April 06, 2011 says “Meritage and blended red wines were the fastest growing wine category in 2010 according to a survey by Symphony IRI Group.” The release also notes that this is the first time since “the 2004 cult movie Sideways” that Meritage and other red blends had surpassed Pinot Noir. Having just been to Cinema Center for a showing of Sideways complete, more or less, with wine tasting, I found this an interesting factoid.
The Meritage Alliance press release for April 06, 2011 says “Meritage and blended red wines were the fastest growing wine category in 2010 according to a survey by Symphony IRI Group.” The release also notes that this is the first time since “the 2004 cult movie Sideways” that Meritage and other red blends had surpassed Pinot Noir. Having just been to Cinema Center for a showing of Sideways complete, more or less, with wine tasting, I found this an interesting factoid.
Local Fort Wayne Monthly “Wine Speak” columnist Kevin Marshaus wrote about Meritage wines November, 2011. He recommends them as an investment to build your wine cellar. His low-end price point pick is Chateau Lalande-Poitevin, Graves, Bordeaux France 2007 and high-end price point Dry Creek Vineyard, “The Mariner” Dry Creek Valley, CA 2007 which he says is “drinkable now but will age for a decade or more.”
As for my Estancia Meritage 2007 Reserve, I will buy it again. It’s just a question of at what price; I will consider it at the Cap N’ Cork regular price of $29.99 but I will hesitate at the S&V Liquors regular price of $34.99. Wine-searcher.com lists the average price as $25.
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