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

1. Boroli Barolo, Cerequio 2004

Note: Aged 24 months in barriques, and another 18 months in the bottle. Runs around $80.00 dollars a bottle

On the nose cherry, cranberry, dark dried prune, cola, and graham cracker, with a nice hint of oak. Full body, well integrated tannins and nice balance. Wine Advocate gave it a 91. Rating: 91 JH

2. Michele Chiarlo Barolo, Cerequio 2004

Note: Aged 24 months in French oak with some being new and some second-passage. It is aged in the bottle another 18 months. Runs around $105.00 a bottle.

Initially the nose was closed and tight, but as the tasting progressed the wine began to unfold and was changing in my glass until I finished the last of it. Deep garnet color in the stem. On the nose dark dusty fruit of cherry, plum, followed by mint with hint of eucalyptus, pencil lead, and a hint of tar with a nice minerality. The body is full and the tannins are velvety smooth. The wine shows great balance and has a pleasant finish.  I think it will improve for the next few years and drink well for the next 10. Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate gave this wine a 90, and WS a 90.  Rating:  91 JH

3. Gaja Langhe, Conteisa 2004

Note: 8% Barbera, 12 months in barriques, 12 months in larger oak casks, with additional time in the bottle.  Bottle ranges from $234.00 to $307.00 dollars

Initially tight and slow to open. Nice ruby color in the stem. Bright nose of macerated cherries, plum , licorice, spice, leather, tar with a nice earthy minerality. This medium bodied wine shows great acidity with nice integrated tannins, and a pleasant long finish. Robert Parker gave this wine a 94. Rating: 94 JH

4. Roberto Voerzio Barolo, Cerequio 2004

Notes: Aged in a combination of 1/3 new and 2/3 used French oak barriques for 2 years. and is refined for 1 year before being cellared for one additional year in bottle. Only 515 cases produced. Bottle price is up to $275.00 a bottle.

A little tight on the nose as well at the beginning but opened more with time. On the nose plum, blackberry, and mint followed by spicy oak and a great earthy minerality. The finish is pleasantly long. The velvety tannins in this wine work very well with bold cheese and beef. Needs several more years in the bottle to reach it fullest. Robert Parker gave this wine a 97, WS gave it a 93, and ST gave it a 92. Rating: 93 JH

Stefano Chiarlo was generous enough to bring two of his Barolo Cerequio from the 1997, and 2001 vintages for us to see how their wines age well. Booth of these wines showed the complexities of quality wine with additional time in the bottle. The 2001 was the star of the entire show for me, and will be in my cellar shortly.

1997 Rating: 92, and the 2001 a Rating: 94

Our second wine of the infamous “Real Date Night”, was one that truthfully, I have tried before and not been absolutely impressed by. However, the 2004 is really coming along nicely. The color is dark ruby and simply stunning in the glass. Full of spice and some nice floral components, the nose is still not overpowering to nice fruit like blackberry and cassis that come through on the palate.  Very complex and full with tons of dark fruit.  The finish just goes and goes.

Phillipe Melka is one of Hundred Acre’s winemakers. He also works for Vineyard 29, Quintessa, and Bryant Family. Melka produces the Ancient Way Shiraz. It is made from old vines in Australia’s Barossa Valley. This vineyard yielded an incredibly low .8 tons per acre. 600 cases of this wine were produced.  The Viticulturist for  Penfold’s selected the very best cuttings from Grange’s core vineyard blocks to create the vineyard. The soil is red soil over limestone, and allows Hundred Acre to produce a Shiraz like no other ever made down under.

Jayson Woodbridge (owner and winemaker), applies an extremely “Hands on” approach to this wine and in my opinion is responsible for one of the finest wines we’ve tasted. It is not too limited so find some and give it a try.

Rating: 94

The 2004 Bond Vecnia was right at the top of my four or five choices and we decided to go for it.  I am honestly glad we did because this wine is simply a treat of complexity.  Dark ruby color was purhaps overstated becuase it was evening and the lights where low, but the wine actully seemed black to me, so we will go with dark ruby.  The opulence of this wine nose is simply wonderful.  Inky notes of black currant and blackberry come through right away along with some vanilla and chocolate shavings.  Very robust cedar and some spice come through to round out what continues to develop in the glass as you drink.

The feel of this wine in your mouth is wonderfully full and complex.  The fruit shines forth in abundance and feels like an explosion of flavor in the mid palate.  This wine is drinking very nice, but can still go for years and years.

Carol and I both gave it a 96+.

Wine Details: 2005
Appelation Ribera Del Duro – Spain
Varietal: Tempranillo or Tinto Fino
Alc 14.5%
Cases made: 150

Dark garnet color. On the nose blackberry’s and black cherries, with a little pencil lead, anise, leather, cedar, eucalyptus, and a nice smokey mineral component. The wine is is full bodied, with great structure, concentrated and easy to drink now. The tannins are integrated and the finish is long.

Rating: 94+ JH

 The vines are exceptionally old by Napa standards at 60 years of age, with this years vintage only producing 400 cases. It took this wine about 1.5 hours in the decanter to release and shows it true nature.

Wine Details:

Vintage: 2005

Appelation: Rutherford – Napa Valley

Varietal: Cabernet

400 cases made

On the nose dark concentrated jammy fruit, dark cherry, curant, earth, star anise, cedar, cassis, toasty marshmellow, and tobacco notes with some baking spices.

On the palate the fruit, tannins, and alc are extremely harmonious, and elegant. This  wine is not over the top fuity or tannic at all. It is quite drinkable now, but is extremely age worthy. I think Celia does a magnificant job of displaying the incredible terrior of Rutherford. The finish is incredibly long and pleasing. I really think this wine will improve for the next 7 or more years in the bottle. One of the best of a really strong 2005 vintage that I have had.

I am actually finding that across the globe I am impressed with wines from the 2005 vintage.

I am finding that the women winemakers of napa such as Helen Turley, Celia Masyczek, and of course Heidi barrett, are really producing some of the most balanced, beautiful, age worthy wines in all of Napa. I would love to apprentice under any of these fine winemakers.

Rating: 98 JH

This wine was one that we tried at a restaurant called Cuveé, in Napa. We had it after a bottle of Maya and to tell you the truth, the $600 I laid down for the Maya (it was my 20th anniversary) seemed to taunt me all night. This wine is exceptional ($50)… in the company of giants.

So, I order a few bottles from the vineyard and today it arrived, cool to the touch. Carol and I sat poolside (still needs a bit of cleaning) and had this wine again. Here are my notes.

The nose is like blueberry pie. Tons of fruit and some nice terroir, some nice blackberry in there as well. Coffee and green tea notes.

A little background on this selection… Our second night in Napa, we met a new friend at Reynolds winery. She was with us at Cuvee and recommended this wine. Cheers to Sarah… We’ve been talking about you all evening.

Ok- the pallet is a full one… Full of fruit and it taste like sitting in Napa, overlooking a vineyard (per Carol). It also has a tremendous mouthful of balanced – Jesus in a bottle! Wonderful!

The finish continues on with the balance and nice fruit.

A perfect wine to enjoy after a hurricane or whenever you feel a little stressed…

Carol dropped some on her shirt and tried to suck it out… That is how good it is or how drunk we are! Cheers!

We tasted the latest Revana offering and let me say if you can get any, get as much as you can… It was awesome!

Dark ruby color with a lavender nose and dark fruit. This wine is spectalular on the pallet. Smooth with berries and dark fruit.  Very balanced and concentrated in the same mouth full.  The finish was not too hot and not too cold – JUST RIGHT!

Rating 95+ PaulC

All in all, this vintner manages tons of wines (I think 70). They do the work part of the making of the wine, following each wine maker’s work orders.  A really cool operation.

I’ll try to post as much stuff as possible during our stay and I’ll even try to get Carol to write something she reviews.

Here we go plane leaving in a few…