Merryvale Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Vineyards Vineyard X Oakville

Now we’re getting into the serious Cabernet Sauvignons.

Merryvale is one of my favorite California wineries, based on its consistently good quality, well-valued Starmont line. Because their “entry level” bottlings are enjoyable, it would stand to reason that their high-end wines would be even better. Merryvale’s Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Vineyards “Vineyard X” Oakville proves the point.

It’s called “Beckstoffer” because the grapes come from Andy Beckstoffer’s vineyards on the “Oakville Bench” in Napa Valley — this collaboration has been going on since 1992, and this particular wine has only been made five times. Only 1500 cases were made, with the grapes coming from three different “blocks” of vineyard (these are parts of a vineyard that have been specifically identified and cared for, for one reason or another; in short, it means the vines are of high quality, in a fantastic location, and old). After fermentation, the wine spent 18 months in French oak barrels (66% of them new) and was bottled unfiltered.

The nose has typical Cabernet aromas – black fruits, leather, earth, tar, black pepper – as well as a good dose of black licorice and some spice. In the mouth it is full, fruit-forward, and borderline jammy. Flavors are complex and delicious, showing black raspberry, black currant, cassis, blueberry, boysenberry, earth, coffee, tar, tobacco, pepper, and slight twinges of spice and a vegetal component. Texture is smooth, almost creamy. Acidity is at a good level for food and a fine foil for the big fruit. Tannins are ripe, and of medium intensity. This wine was a bit softer than I expected; I was expecting a huge, bold, tannic monster. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to find this very drinkable, and immensely enjoyable. A tasty, polished, classy wine that is best enjoyed with a cheese plate, steaks, beef roasts, beef stew – anything with beef, in fact. At around 75 bucks, this ain’t cheap … but if you can afford it, it’s worth the dough.

a-9 t-10 b-9 fc-8 v-7 ~ 93 Points

Winery: Merryvale

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Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 2003

As mentioned in the last post, I’ve been on a Cabernet binge.

Mount Veeder is both a winery and an appellation — it is an official AVA within Napa Valley, consisting of about 25 square miles along a steep mountainside in the Mayacamas Mountains. The area is rich with volcanic soil and tends to produce powerful, long-lived wines.

Mount Veeder, the estate and winery, has been around since the 1960s, and released its first bottling in 1973. Owners Michael and Arlene Bernstein were the first vintners in Napa Valley to successfully grow all five traditional Bordeaux grapes (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot) on one property.

The nose is slightly closed, but still giving good aromas of black fruits, eucalyptus, and some earth. On the palate, the wine is surprisingly open upfront, giving a mildly jammy black raspberry flavor. From there, though, this wine gets very serious, as a mad rush of complex flavors, good acidity, and ripe, firm tannins enter the picture. Wild berry fruit, black fruits, some tar, leather, tobacco, earth, and a touch of spice fight for attention in your mouth, and linger through a long, pleasing finish. A lot of attitude here, and gobs of concentrated fruit. Tannins are fairly aggressive, begging for protein. Match it with ribeye steak, strong cheeses.

a-8 t-10 b-9 fc-7 v-7 ~ 91 Points

Winery: Mount Veeder

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Argiano NC (Non Confiditur) 2004

For those of you who wasted away your childhood watching Saturday morning cartoons such as Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids may remember “NC” being the abbreviation for “no class” — which the character Russell invariably used to insult Rudy.

However, this wine has plenty of class, and in fact the “NC” stands for “Non Confunditur”, a latin term which the Argiano family uses as their motto. Unfortunately, I have no idea what the term means because instead of taking latin as a kid I wasted away my time watching cartoons. Anyway …

This is a Tuscan blend of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 20% Sangiovese, and 20% Syrah – all from vineyards in the Montalcino district. It’s an IGT, and could be considered a “baby Super Tuscan”. All those great grapes put together, spending a full year in oak barrels, and then another four months in bottle before release, and yet it still retails for under twenty bucks. Amazing.

The nose is deep, rich with aromas of leather saddle, black fruit, tobacco, earth, tar, peppermint, and something else green or herbal — eucalyptus? Sage? Bay leaf? I’m not sure, I really need to get better at this. The palate has similar flavors, dominated by sweet black cassis fruit, sweet tobacco, a touch of anise and red licorice, and some mocha / chocolate hints. Acidity is low, tannins are medium and firm. The texture is very smooth. There’s a bit of hotness that appears momentarily but fades away by the finish, which has good fruit (black raspberry, cassis, black licorice, tar, tobacco) and is fairly well balanced. The acidity isn’t high enough to match with tomato sauce, so try it instead with hard and soft cheeses, grilled meats, lamb chops.

This is a wine that drinks like a big boy, but not priced like one. A good value.

a-8 t-8 b-8 fc-7 v-8 ~ 89 Points

Importer: Vias

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Masi Costasera Amarone 2001

Amarone is a big, fairly expensive, red wine from Italy that matches with a fairly small variety of foods. Although, if braised beef cheeks, lamb steaks, venison stew, or similarly gamey dishes are frequent in your home, you may disagree. Since I almost always drink wine with food as a rule, and I have neither the time nor the stomach to braise beef cheeks, Amarone has a hard time breaking into my routine.

Still, there are times when Amarone is perfect — most often, in my case, as an after-dinner drinker with a chunk of cheese (aged Parmegiano-Reggiano is a good choice). And once a bottle is started, it’s hard not to finish; Amarone can be a stunning, intriguing, highly complex, and seductive wine to contemplate over.

Tasting Notes: Masi Amarone “Costasera”

Nose is still a bit closed, but deep down are some aromas of bitter earth, tobacco, distinctly herbal spices (sage, thyme, bay leaf, maybe the slightest hint of rosemary), ash, and some black fruits – licorice, prune, cassis. On the palate the texture is smooth, the flavors are sweet prune, cassis, black licorice, mulberry, black raspberry. Tannins are ripe and surprisingly tame for Amarone, but still bigger than most red wines; I’d call the level medium to medium high. Acidity is medium. Another surprise is the alcohol, which is lower than expected. The finish could be longer, but is in better balance than similar wines. Flavors in the finish include blackberry, herbs, tobacco, and tar. Do not make the mistake of pouring this wine directly from bottle to glass – it needs to breathe, and it needs some time. Pour it into a decanter, then pour it again into another decanter, and let it sit for at least 10-15 minutes before tasting — otherwise it may seem harsh instead of polished, and you’ll likely miss out on the complexity and subtle nuances that make this wine special. It will probably be a nice match for lamb, gamey dishes, roast pork loin, or a hunk of hard cheese. A fine, polished wine to open up next to the fire on a cold winter night.

a-8 t-8 b-9 fc-7 v-9 ~ 91 Points

Importer: Remy USA

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Merryvale Reserve Merlot 2003 Napa Valley

Did you watch Sideways? And did you buy into the whole idea that Merlot is for “pedestrian” wine drinkers, and otherwise not worthy of your attention?

OK, then, move on … nothing to see here. (And more Merlot for me!)

For those who remain, following is my opinion of Merryvale Merlot Reserve 2003. Merryvale is a brand I’ve found to have a consistently strong price:value ratio — and once in a while deliver a knockout. This particular bottle is excellent, made from 85% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 3% Petit Verdot grapes from four of Merryvale’s vineyards in Napa Valley.

Tasting Notes

Nose is fairly open, showing ripe, deep aromas of black berry fruit, sweet and bitter earth, mild hint of licorice. On the palate the texture is as smooth as glass, carrying ripe, luscious red and black raspberry, blueberry, a touch of mulberry, hint of vanilla, some sweet earth, black pepper, and the slightest bit of green bell pepper. In other words, very complex, and enjoyable. Both tannins and acidity are medium to medium high, and hold the fruit together well. Some alcohol is apparent on the finish, heating things up a bit, but not so much that it is overbearing. The finish is lengthy and enjoyable, with plenty of fruit giving way to ripe tannins after around a minute. Overall this is an excellent example of a ripe Napa Valley Merlot fruit, bordering on a jammy fruit bomb – but staying just below that to be a polished, well balanced wine for enjoyment on its own or with food. Best with steak, roasted or grilled game, and fine cheeses. A kick ass wine that is hitting on all cylinders right now. Note that this is not the “Starmont” line – which is also a good value – but rather a “Reserve”, which is $10-15 more and more difficult to find, but well worth the search. Even at $39 this is a good value, and a fantastic choice for steak.

a-8 t-9 b-10 fc-9 v-8 ~ 94 Points

Merryvale Vineyards Website

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