An Interlude: BAWDY Wine Club report; March 2011 MERITAGE TASTING

[BAWDY] is one of our local San Francisco East Bay wine clubs -- founded by Allison Wright and Arnie Becker and dedicated to having a relaxed good time with wine and friends. BAWDY stands for Bay Area Wine Drinkers And A "Y".]

Hello Bawdies!

This is a brief report on the wines we enjoyed at Saturday's party, hosted by the gracious FLAGGS! Thank you, Myra and Allen - not to forget the charming musical interlude by the talented Mr Keenan Flagg.

Theme: MERITAGE WINES
Date: March 12, 2011

Note: Meritage (pronounced like "heritage") is a proprietary term created by U.S winemakers to characterize high-quality Bordeaux-style blended wines, made from a prescribed combination of the two or more of the same grapes as found in French Bordeaux, namely Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec, Carmenere, and, less commonly, St. Macaire and Gros Verdot for red Meritage; or for white Meritage, like white Bordeaux,  Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, and Muscadelle du Bordelais.

We had two whites at the party, a Meritage from Cosantino called 'The Novelist,' an 07 blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon (misspelled 'Semillion' on the label!) that was a pleasant, quiet blend; and a Chariot Gypsy, which had a nice sweet note.

For reds, we had a Super Tuscan, Antico Classico, which at $8 was very pleasant. Other reds:

*Overture, Napa, a nonvintage (!) second label for Opus One, which was excellent.

*Clos Pegase 2006 Napa "Origami" Estate; grapes not stated; a nicely balanced and delicious Bordeaux-tasting wine.

*St. Clement Oroppas, 2006, a Napa Valley Cabernet blend that I rated an A.

*Ferrari-Carano Reserve "Tresor" 1997 (!), Sonoma - a very nice blend of Cab, Malbec, Merlot, Cab Franc, and Petit Verdot.

*Laraine, a 2005 Cabernet from the Sierra Foothills' Gerber Vineyard - nice!

*Chemin de Terre 2006 Southern Oregon nicely rounded blend of 44% Merlot, 17.5% Cab, and splashes of Petit Syrah, Cab Franc, Sangiovese (!), Grenache, and Pinot Noire (!!).

*Canterbury Vineyards "Beautiful Place, Beautiful Wine" 2006 Shiraz-Cab blend.

*Sterling Vineyards Vintner's Collection Meritage, Central Coast, 2008.

*Sterling Vineyards Pinot Noir, Oak Knoll Vineyards, 2006.

*Guenoc "Lillie's Victorian Claret," North Coast 2007, presumably a Bordeaux-style blend because that's what the English mean when they say Claret, but I didn't see anything on the label.

*Roth Alexander Valley 2007 Cabernet blend.

*Murrietta Wells 2007 Meritage.

As you see, I didn't make detailed notes on each -- I was drinking, you see. The foods were also wonderful. Please feel free to make further notes about your thoughts on the wines and the foods, round out this report for the group, ok? Thanks.

Mac McCarthy