2010 Kirkland Signature Series Red Wine, Washington

My fourth foray into Costco’s Signature Series line of wines that one can only assume are of higher quality, complexity and limited batches. While I loved the Stag’s Leap and Mountain Cuvee Cabernet Sauvignons, I was not a fan of the Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon as it was far to fruit forward bordering on sweet. This particular wine is the first of the series that is not solely a Cab Sauv, as it is a red blend featuring Cab Sauv, Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot; therefore falling into the Meritage family of red blends. I purchased two bottles of this particular wine right off the bat and popped the first that very same day. It is a very pleasant red blend that is dark purple in the glass, with violet bubbles and a black core. The nose is comprised of succulent, compact blackberry, black currant, molasses and oak notes; floating atop a vanilla, caramel and crème de cassis backbone. The attack is very balanced but focused; featuring black cherry, blackberry, black currant, cream/vanilla and oak. The mid-palate is near perfect, chewy tannins; semi-sweet astringency with perfectly balanced acidity from the alcohol lovely in every sense of the word. The finish is long and complex with blackberry and vanilla, swirling amidst sugared plums and coffee mixed amidst a backdrop of chocolate covered cherry and oak. This wine is a full bodied effort with a lovely aftertaste of blackberry, oak and coffee all flavors that bring me joy that knows no bounds.

Overall, this is definitely one of the better Signature Series wines that I’ve sampled. That being said two other Signature Series wines make the grade with only the Napa Valley Cab Sauv falling short. This isn’t the best of the winners, coming in second, below the Mountain Cuvee but above the Stag’s Leap. It features wonderfully focused and compact fruit and spice flavors that are married in perfection. The saddest part of this wine is it’s price point, coming in at 19 dollars and while this wine is a nicely complex red blend, it might not be as good a QPR as the Kirkland Signature Napa Valley Meritage. I would rate this a good-bordering-on-great QPR, but the Napa Valley Meritage gets the same rating, therefore it might be more cost effective and just plain easier to purchase a bottle of the Meritage. But if you can find this wine, I would definitely recommend purchasing a few bottles; one to drink and one to cellar.

2007 Hogue Cellars Genesis Meritage(49% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Malbec, 1% Cabernet Franc), Washington

Oh Say Can You See…Ruby red fading to reddish violet at the rim

A Bouquet of…Dark cherry, blackberry, syrup

The Taste buds Tale…This is a Fry’s closeout wine that I found recently on the shelf for 50% off, it rang up at just under 13 dollars. Mostly I bought this in order to get another Meritage sample. While I realize all of the Meritages I have tried up to this point have had differing blends of grapes, it is still my aim to be able to compare and contrast them. A lot of my fascination with Meritage lies in my love of red blend. I believe a good inexpensive red blend can far outshine a single varietal wine purchased for the same price. It’s been my experience that blends in the 10-15 dollar range are more complex than single varietal wines at the same price while also being more balanced. So I popped the cork, poured, and sat back to let it get some air. I returned after 30 minutes, swirled, sniffed and sipped this wine…wow after a good 30 minutes this was still relatively piercing and hot where the tannins and alcohol were concerned. I set aside the glass for yet another 30 minutes. I came back around and repeated my process only to be greeted with the same result. I decided to finish my glass swiftly and return to the bottle the following day. On day two I poured another small glass, swirled and sniffed. The aromas coming off the glass were more well defined on day two; I could smell dark cherry mixed with blackberry, a hint of licorice and at the tail end what I can only describe generically as syrup. Upon the first sip this wine still tastes young and a little rambunctious. The flavors on the attack are big; cherry, blackberry, currant and pepper. Then a wild ride of a mid-palate defined mainly by rough and ready tannins, alcohol heat just a little on the warm side for me and a sourness that I didn’t expect right before the finish hits. The finish is medium in length and brings back the big, bold berry/cherry flavors, adds to them a healthy dose of tobacco, licorice and black pepper, then heaps on a huge helping of oak halfway through the finish that ends up being the main flavor in the aftertaste. I hesitate to call this a full bodied wine, though the flavors and textures would take me in that direction. This is really a medium bodied wine that is still a little young and rough around its edges.

Let Me Sum Up…If you purchase this Meritage make sure you give it ample time to breathe before you start to sip it. In reality you might want to let this sit in your cellar for a good 3-5 years before you pop the cork on it because I truly believe this wine will be good given a chance to mellow with age. Right now it’s just too young, full of tannins and overoaked on the finish. At 13 dollars this barely gets a poor QPR from me. Had I paid full price for this I would be kicking myself all the way into next month, as it stands I still feel like I got taken for a ride. The Genesis looks like an elegant bottle of wine with mature complexity and depth but shows more in common with a rowdy wine that wants to put a knock out punch on your palate. I’d recommend that you pass on this wine.

Hogue Cellars

2007 Lost Sonnet Meritage (58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc), California

Color – Very dark red

Nose – Black Currant, black cherry, minor spice box notes

Taste – I’ve glanced at this bottle in passing more times than I can count on my numerous visits to Trader Joe’s; not a single time in the past was I tempted to pick it up. After my first journey with Meritage went so well, I finally broke down and purchased a bottle of the Lost Sonnet. I got home, let the bottle get a little chill from my wine cooler, popped the cork, poured a glass and sat down to wait for fifteen good minutes while the wine got some air. Upon my first sip I wondered to myself where the vanilla and chocolate covered cranberries from the tasting notes were, as I couldn’t find evidence of either of them. I also had a hard time picking out “Christmas spices” in the nose, was that supposed to be nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla? I finished my glass with mostly negative thoughts and let the bottle sit for a few days. When next I opened the bottle I was in for a rather more pleasant experience. The aroma actually evinced minor spice notes; though the flavor still lacked the chocolat-y cranberries. The attack is plum, black currant and sugared berries. The mid-palate is full of thick tannins and tingling alcohol that leave my tongue very much aware of both itself and the wine. The finish is medium in length with the promised vanilla taking the lead, followed closely by some chocolate tinges and finally delicate flavors of anise and black pepper. The wine is full bodied and tastes much better as it reaches room temperature.

Overall, I went back and forth on this wine. I hated it at first, and after it mellowed a little it grew on me to a certain extent; but in all honesty I can’t really get behind it 100 percent. It is a decent price, but the quality is just a little bit lacking. It isn’t as complex as I expected it to be and is far from versatile (DO NOT TRY IT WITH PASTA, though it was a perfect pair with salmon). I won’t buy it again but if I found myself in the mood for a Meritage; I’d buy the Kirkland Signature Rutherford Valley Meritage instead. This isn’t bad, but it pales in comparison and for only 4 dollars less this just isn’t the smartest buy around. Pass on this one.

2009 Kirkland Signature Rutherford Meritage(70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 12% Petit Verdot, and 3% Cabernet Franc), California

Color – Purple with a violet rim

Nose – Blueberry, blackberry, vanilla, pencil shavings

Taste – This wine provides one of the most fulfilling red wine experiences I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying since I started taking notes on the wines I sip. From the color to the aroma to the first sip, this wine is all about flavor, balance and depth. There is a decent amount of dark fruit on the palate, a mélange of black currant, blackberry, plum and blueberry. The mid-palate is a wonderful experience of firm tannins, subtle astringency and perfect levels of alcohol. The finish is long with blackberry, plum, vanilla, oak and semi-sweet chocolate. The wine is full bodied, the mouthfeel silky with an aftertaste that reminds me of clean mint and fruit skin, all of this combines to give the feeling that this wine is more mature than it actually is. Had I tasted this blind, I would have guessed an ’05-’06 vintage and a price tag between 20 and 30 dollars. Boy would I have been wrong.

Overall, this wine has a great QPR. For 14 dollars you get to experience a wine that has the complexity, depth and balance of a wine double the price. I can honestly say that I have only tasted two wines since January that compete with this; the first was the Courtney Benham Cabernet Sauvignon and the last Clos Pegase Cabernet Sauvignon. There were a few in between (Munoz de Toro Argie Bonarda , Bodegas Flechas de los Andes Gran Malbec and Crios de Susana Balbo) but that’s really only five wines in five months that have this superior level of complexity and depth. Sure the few Beaujolais I tried also meet these standards but they aren’t the same “type” of red wine as this is. I would recommend this as a definite buy, stock up while Costco has this in stock, you won’t regret it.