Meritage blending – Franciscan Magnificat $50

Napa Valley

I just came out of a local wine shop after attending a great seminar on Meritage and Bordeaux wine blending. This was excellent to understand “Meritage”, it’s history, guidelines for varietals and how closely related it is to a Bordeaux blend. It brought me a greater appreciation to the wine makers, working to create that perfect blend for all of us to enjoy.  Wine blending is such an important aspect in wine making.

The name Meritage is taken from two words, Merit and Heritage. It was initially a contest to come up with a name when American wine makers wanted to designate their wines made in the tradition of a Bordeaux blend. Today, it’s an alliance and the wines brought forth from wineries must be considered their best wines with no single grape variety making up more than 90% of the blend and production of not more than 25,000 cases.  Grape varietals can be a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot.  Carmenère is also allowed however these 5 mentioned are the predominant ones used.

In our seminar, taught by Luis Torres, Director of Wine Education for the Constellation Academy of wine, we worked on blending to match to the 2011 Franciscan Magnificat.  We had available to us the 5 single varietals to mix and match given our own preferences. All be it virtually impossible to re-create Magnificat, many of us tried to match this nicely blended composition of 79% Cab. Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot and 3% Malbec. Aged on oak for 20 months the aromas exhibited dark plums with hints of licorice and flint. The flavor profile exuded ripe blackberries with a subtle black pepper spice.  Medium to full body with firm tannins. Definitely a wine to drink today yet very good for aging.    

Overall, I wasn’t sure what to expect out of the seminar, however I was pleasantly surprised. Luis is great at demystifying wine, the process of blending and most of all a really nice composure to make anyone feel comfortable in understanding wine.    

Malbec...It's The New Red!

Malbec has always been a favorite of mine to pair with a grilled steak, pork chop or tenderloin.  In general, it's priced very affordable and a great alternative red wine.  Originally from France and approved as one of 5 grape varietals allowed in Bordeaux, Argentina is now one of the largest producers of Malbec.  In California, it's still used widely as a blending grape with Meritage being one of the most popular blends.  I've posted a few Malbec wines on this blog yet never thought about how great the wine is especially for it's price point.  Here is a new one I just tried.

Elsa Bianchi Malbec  '11   $9 (World Market)
Mendoza, Argentina

With delicate aromas of dark cherries, ripe plums and blackberries, this wine revealed a dark fruit characteristic.  Deep purple in color, the flavors of black cherry and hints of spice made for a nice medium body taste.

It may come across as a young wine on the first taste but after letting it open up in the glass for 15 minutes, the tastes began to soften much like a more mature wine.  Hints of vanilla and subtle earthiness found on the finish really made this a great everyday red.  It's value is amazing and apparently Robert Parker gave it 90 points!

Cruz Alta, Malbec '10 $13

Mendoza, Argentina

Crushed dark cherries, plum, subtle oak and what some might call a barnyard aroma all blended together to give this wine an interesting start. I wouldn't get too concerned on the barnyard thing as being anything disgusting. This is mostly to describe a wine that is young and the acid & tannins are up front while the fruit flavors are hiding behind. This could be also called a "backward" wine. Sometimes a backward wine will open up with aeration in your glass or a decanter. I can attest this wine definitely improved over time.

The flavors held together dark berries and hints of cocoa to offer up a nice balance on this easy drinking red. The body is somewhat light which could make this a good every day drinking wine. The finish was clean and I could see this going well with roasted chicken or grilled fish. I had it with a few aged cheeses before dinner which went quite nice. Gouda, Cheddar and Pecorino Romano were included in the selection.

Bodegas Caro, Amancaya ’09 $16

Mendoza, Argentina

This blend of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon is probably one of the best wines I’ve had in the past year!  It’s bursting with aromas of ripe blackberries, spicy black pepper and toasted wood.  Deep purple-red color led to flavors of ripe plums, currants and dark cherries followed by a rich cocoa and vanilla blend.  With a definite fruit forward flavor, the finish balances that out with a hint of tobacco and earthiness.  A full body wine with tight tannins has this wine feeling more mature than other 2009’s I’ve had.

The blend is 70% Malbec and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon.  The 2 wine makers have a long history for their own respective wines.  Nicholas Cantena, with their great Malbec’s from Argentina and Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) with their Bordeaux wines from France.  2003 was the first vintage of Amancaya.

This is absolutely a must have especially in this price range which I’ve heard could be increasing.  I need to thank one of my local wine shops again for a wonderful recommendation, The Wine Barn.

Grill up a nice steak, pork tenderloin or even some seared Ahi with this wine and let me know what you think.

Sur De Los Andes, Bonarda 2008 $10.99

Argentina

This is definitely a new varietal for me.  It’s relatively unknown however those of you liking Malbec wines have possibly had it as a blending grape in Malbec.  As one of Argentina’s most widely planted grapes, it still hasn’t caught on, yet it’s a great value and won’t leave you disappointed.  For those of you liking a red wine with rustic and mild tannin overtones, this is one for you.

The aromas brought out an earthy and black pepper dominance with a slight hint of toasted wood.  Ripe raspberries, plum and mild black pepper honestly surprised me in this very nice, well balanced wine.  I’d almost buy more of this than some of my favorite Malbec bottles.

From subtle tannins to a slightly dry finish this first bottle had the benefit of complementing a grilled NY strip steak.  I can’t say enough how surprised I was with this even on day 2 when it opened up a little more. 

Neu Direction, Malbec 2005 ($11)

Mendoza, Argentina

To those of you following me, sorry it’s been a few weeks since my last posting. My “real” job took over but I haven’t forgotten you.

It’s no surprise that most of us are looking to find more “value wines” in today’s economy. Well it’s not hard to find a match between reasonably priced bottles and good wine. By reasonably priced lets just say under $20.

One of my recent findings was during a stroll through the wine aisle at Sam’s Club. I know, their prices “kill” the small wine shop but what can I say if something I decided to try turns out good. They especially deserve credit for many more reasons than price point on this Neu Direction Malbec.

On the nose (for those of you new to this that means smell or aromas) a hint of smokiness, must and maybe wet leaves was there. The flavors supported a light woody flavor, licorice and dark berries. I would characterize this wine as having a medium body with a slight spicy, chocolaty flavor on the finish. Once again, for those of you new here and in basic terms…”finish” is usually what you taste once the wine has left your mouth. – just keeping it “Simple Wine Talk”

This Malbec is a good everyday drinking red especially with grilled beef or pork. The great story behind the wine itself is that it’s a “Fair Trade” wine. In an excerpt taken from the link below:
The DIRECTION of the path is guided by Fair Trade, seeking to enrich the lives of vineyard workers, their families, and their communities. Fair Trade Certified™ directly supports a better life for farming families in the developing world through fair prices, community development and environmental stewardship.

For more information on this Fair Trade Wine see: Organic Wine