Vanessa Vineyard Meritage 2014

Deborah Podurgiel WSET IV Candidate rated this wine as 93/100 with the following review:

Can you say smoooooooth? I don’t often indulge myself in wine, but for whatever reason… maybe because it was the month of February and nothing more, I had to have this Meritage. I decanted the wine and I knew this was going to be a beautiful, albeit short, relationship.

The aromas on the wine were so rich that as I decanted it black raspberry, cherry, savoury herbs, dill, chives, anise and a whiff of smoke just poured out of the bottle. Dry, full-bodied and fresh, the wine was just as generous on the palate with liquid raspberry, dark cherry, cassis, spiced plum, savoury herbs, anise, nutmeg and well-integrated oak spice with just a hint of smoke, harmonious and forever long with rich, fine-grained, velvety tannins.

The Bordeaux-style blend for Vanessa Vineyard’s 2014 Meritage was 37% Cabernet Franc, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon and 28% Merlot. Varietals were individually fermented and barrel-aged for eight months, and the small lots were lovingly assembled and matured for 12 more months in American and French oak barrels (40% new). Drank February 2022 with a roasted venison tenderloin (previously tasted June 2018).

Jennifer Havers rated this wine as 92/100 with the following review:

Beautifully layered. Rich aromas of dark fruit, chocolate, leather, and warm spice. Full bodied, lots of chocolate and leather on the palate, mingled with some brighter than expected acidity. The dark fruit flavours shine through on a lengthy finish. This wine is lovely and would definitely benefit for an hour or so of decanting. Enjoy with prime rib.