“Meander Cabernet” Wine Tasting At Cellar-17

An interview with Amy Aiken, winemaker

Last night we were privileged to attend a tasting of Meander wines hosted by Cellar-17 in Houston and the distributor of Meander, Red4Wine. Meander is a personal project of winemaker Amy Aiken, who has been crafting wines in Napa Valley since 1989. Amy’s focus is mainly on limited production, ultra-premium Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, but she also has a 2008 Sauvignon Blanc offering soon to be coming out, that we were the first to try. Meander’s first release was the 2003 vintage with the most current release being the 2005. A Midwesterner, Amy Aiken came to California to work in plant research and pursue her Master’s Degree at the University of California, Davis. Upon completion of her masters in plant pathology at UC Santa Cruz, Amy followed her boyfriend Joel up to the Napa Valley where Craig Williams at Joseph Phelps interviewed her for a job working the crush of 1989. At Joseph Phelps, Amy cut her winemaking teeth on the great Cabernets that Phelps produced – “Backus”, “Eisele” and of course “Insignia”.

During her tenure at Phelps she discovered her passion for winemaking and charted a brand new course. Amy’s background in science and passion for the finer things in life has made that a perfect match. For part of her career, Amy focused on sparkling wine and Pinot Noir but found her way back to Cabernet while making wine at Oakville Ranch, Viader Vineyards, and Anomaly Vineyards.

The Meander Cabernet is a blend of fruit from two historical vineyards both of which have been family owned and farmed for generations: Morisoli Vineyard in Rutherford and Lewelling Vineyards in St. Helena. These producers are two of the Valley’s most sought after by winemakers who craft the highest quality Cabernet wines. Meander is hand crafted in small batches and aged in 100% French Oak. Amy was very approachable, friendly like her wines, and I really enjoyed the evening with her and Tommy Scilian of Red4Wine who knows more about the California Cult wine scene than most anyone I know.

last night was our first time to vblog and you will find the link to the interviev we did.

1 – 2008 Conspire – Sauvignon Blanc – lemon grass, orange sherbert, and tropical fruit notes with nice bright acidity. Rating 89 + PC,  90 JH

Note: only 125 cases produced.

2 – 2003 Meander Cabernet - Dark plum, black cherry, currant, blackberry,  Nice rich texture and color, tons of spice box, star anise, pencil lead, with a nice mineral dusty earth component.

Rating 92+  PC

Note: 200 cases produced. Aged in 100% French oak, 65% of which is new, for 20 months. Primary coopers are Sylvain, Seguin, Moreau, and Vicard

3- 2004 Meander Cabernet – Dark cherry, blackberry, black currant, with toasty oak, black pepper, star anise, menthol, leather, pencil lead, and a hint of vanilla. Nice Rutherford dusty/rusty component. On the palate the wine is wonderfully balanced with well integrated tannins and a lovely long generous finish.

Rating 92 PC,  94 JH

Note: 350 cases produced. Aged in 100% French oak, 65% of which is new, for 20 months. Primary coopers are Sylvain, Seguin, Moreau, and Vicard

4 – 2005 Meander Cabernet – On the nose dark cherry, blackberry, black currant, cassis, with toasty oak and spanish cedar followed by star anise, black pepper, pencil lead, burned forrest floor with a nice smokiness and a hint of vanilla. Classic Rutherford rusty/dusty mineral component. A little tight on the open but with patience, nice bright fruit coming through after it opened. Great elegant balance with nice bright acidity, perfectly integrated tannins and a very generous long finish.  A very age worthy wine that will improve with cellar time.  Will definitely revisit it again in a few years.

Rating 92+ PC,  95 JH

Note: 500 cases produced. Aged in 100% French oak, 75% of which is new, for 20 months. Primary coopers are Sylvain, Seguin, Moreau, and Vicard