I had this wine with a steak off the BBQ, some cauliflower and russet potatoes sauted in butter with some onions. The perfect Labor Day feast. This wine is made in Virginia not far from Jefferson’s Monticello. It’s composed of 58% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. I picked it up for around $15 at Whole Foods.
Blenheim Vinyards, 2005 Meritage
Color: Nice, bright purple but transparent and almost colorless around the edges. Pretty but not brooding or very dark.
Nose: Nice fruit with some of the funky, barnyard vegetal characteristics of the Cabernet Franc showing through. It’s slightly hot on the nose. Secondary aromas of earth, asparagus chocolate finished with a meatiness. A pretty nose.
Taste: Bright and fruit forward. Lively red fruit with clear and clean cherry and raspberry up front with some spice and cured meat on the finish. Good acid for a red with tannins present without being overly gripping, someplace between loose and tight. Very smooth and focused on a clean presentation of its fruit profile.
Overall: I liked this wine. It is perhaps a little one dimensionally fruity but it presents a pleasant flavor profile if not overly nuanced. If one were to open a bottle for a special occasion or a first date they may be slightly disappointed by its lack of wow factor but it would be more than adequate for any normal occasion.
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