Estancia Meritage 2004
Year in and year out, Estancia consistently delivers a strong quality – to – price ratio across its breadth of bottles. Because I am never disappointed with their “entry” level of wines, Estancia is one of the brands I will consider when spending “big bucks” (hey, to me, $25-30 IS big bucks!) for a gift or special occasion. Their Meritage is an example.
Made from Paso Robles fruit picked in Estancia’s Keyes Canyon Ranches Vineyard, the blend is 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, and 8% Petit Verdot.
Following are notes for the 2004 vintage, which was released in October of 2008 and is drinking very well now — so uncork it if you have a bottle in your cellar. From what I understand, the latest release on retail shelves is the 2006.
Tasting Notes: Estancia Meritage 2004
Nose is rich, ripe, and full of black fruit, spice, hints of earth, pepper, and licorice. In the mouth there is a medley of flavors: blackberry, black raspberry, black licorice, boysenberry, and plum, with hints of sweet tobacco and vanilla. Tannins are firm, acidity is ample – well structured. Smooth, almost creamy texture. Finish is long and enjoyable, with plenty of black fruit. This wine needs food, so be sure to have it with cheese, grilled beef, or a roast. At just under thirty bucks, this is a good value.
a-9 t-8 b-9 fc-8 v-8 ~ 91 Points
Bottom Line
A rich, ripe, complex, well structured red that warms the palate with a plethora of black fruits and spice. Perfect pairing for roasts and stews. A good value and fitting gift bottle.
Find this wine at a retailer near you using Wine-Searcher, Vinquire, or WineZap
Learn more at the Estancia Estates website
If you are living in a similar part of the world as me — where the summer weather has become hot and sticky — then you likely are reaching into the fridge for chilled white wines to cool you off.
In the past, when I was geekier, more condescending, and had free access to world-class (read: expensive) wines, I stayed away from the “mass produced” brands. But lately I have become more humble and open to wines from any and every producer. And there’s something to be said for a wine that provides consistency year in and year out. 
No, that’s not a mistake — Pinot Noir and Pinot Nero are the same thing, except that in Italy they like to use words with vowels at the end. I like it too, it makes language more colorful and melodic.
Kaiken is a somewhat unknown wine brand from Argentina, which is a good thing and a bad thing. It’s a good thing, because it hasn’t yet been discovered and “taken off” in popularity, so the prices are still affordable (around ten bucks or less). It’s a bad thing, because 1) it can be hard to find on retailer’s shelves; and 2) since people don’t see it at their retailer, restaurants are able to mark it up ridiculously. For example, I paid $9.99 for this bottle at my local wine shop, after tasting it at $11 per glass at a local restaurant. Hey, I’m all for restaurants marking up wine to make money — they do have to store it, provide glassware, educate their staff, and make a profit. But there’s a point where markup can become obnoxious.
Wide open, expressive nose of bright ripe pear, peach, honeysuckle, banana, vanilla. In the mouth it is velvety smooth, with almost sweet ripe pear, candied peach, vanilla, honey. Acidity is mild. Alcohol is surprisingly low considering the high level of ripe fruit. Finishes with spicy peach, vanilla, and a touch of zesty lime. This is enjoyable on its own, also good with leaner foods such as simply prepared roast chicken. Will be nice with spicy and sweet Chinese dishes (General Tsao, sweet and sour shrimp, sesame chicken), BBQ ribs. As far as the Passover table goes, this will be a nice match for a mildly sweet noodle kugel. 
Open aroma of ripe plum, red raspberry, jam, chocolate. Jammy, juicy ripe flavors of sweet raspberry, blueberry, pomegranate. Tannins are mild, acidity is mild to medium. Texture is smooth. Finish is pleasant, full of raspberries and pomegranate, with a slight edge of tart acidity. Enjoyable alone, it will match well with lean meats such as roast chicken and fish but also has just enough structure to stand up to simply prepared beef — such as beef brisket. Will also be nice with turkey meatloaf, Chinese rib tips or beef with spicy and/or sweet sauce.
When it comes to wines from the United States, North Fork, Long Island, New York, is not exactly mentioned in the same breath as, say, Napa Valley, but nonetheless this small region does produce drinkable and enjoyable wines. Its Northeast geography lends itself to less consistent and predictable summers, with a climate and soil type that is not necessarily ideal for “traditional” grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and Merlot. Very generally speaking, Long Island summers are better suited for varietals such as Riesling, Gewurztraminer, and Cabernet Franc, which tend to flourish in cooler climes. 
Every once in a while I get in the mood for a big, jammy, New World style red wine — something bursting with sweet red and black berry fruits — but at the same time, something that I don’t have to think much about. In other words, a bottle that I can pick up for around ten bucks or less and not feel guilty about drinking with a hamburger or cheap cut of steak. 
Yowza. And I feel it’s OK to use “yowza” as a descriptor for a wine called “Jip Jip Rocks”.
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