Gary,

I wish I was drinking the Las Cases tonight becasue I am a huge St. Julien fan. For all those who have not tried the wines from this region â??please seek them out.â? Brainaire Ducru, Lagrange, Clos du Marquis & Gruaud Larose are just some of the best values in Bordeaux and they are all from St. Julien.

The game has not started and I am probably not going to get a chance to watch, but I predict Pittsburg winning 21-14 and I am drinking the 2004 Clos Mimi Petite Rousse Syrah that you recommended in episode #80. Nice wine considering I just opened it. Very fruity and a defiantly a good value.

Look forward to tomorrowâ??s episode.

Gary, Crazy!! I literally just left WL at about 7:30 and picked up the Grappler. Opened it up, sat down at the computer and low and behold there it is. Your tasting the wine I’m about to drink. How wierd is that!?! I didn’t let it breathe much and yeah I see the “young” in it, but it’s good stuff. I’m trying to under the concept of mid palate, so I got it. Do you have any suggestions off the cuff that would help with understanding the midpalate? Preferable under or around $20 – $25.
oh yeah, Pitt 24 -17

GVAD!

I love it! Hope the 05 LLC is as good…. 16-10 Steelers with a home brew beer!

Keep up the great work!

Excellent episode today. I enjoy your sports chats during the episodes. I understand not everyone enjoys sports as much as we do, but people should realize that this adds to your non-snobish, easy going, yet very serious interest in wine is so well appreciated. And for anyone that has ever had the opportunity to visit your store, they realize it is an extension of this attitude.

“The lowly, aweful, dismal, hateful, dirty fish from Miami???” Two free shipping days this year to Florida. Sweet! Off to the game. Gary, ready to ship some free wine to Tennessee this weekend?

When I got home from work, I had a glass of 2002 Craneford (Barossa) Shiraz. I was quite impressed. Excellent color, huge nose, fruit bomb- have I been watching too much WLTV?? Sorry, nothing during the game.

Hooray! The first set of comments in as long as I can remember that people didn’t try to be “first”. Tony, Brandon M- you’ll see the light soon enough!

Off to the game!

Steelers 20-14.
Good episode…am hoping to make the awesome tasting at WL this weekend…:)

Gary —

Great episode. Good to see you taste some of the best every now and then.

Please sign me up for distribution of the spreadsheet when available.

Cheers.

You said that the Leoville was open for 10 hours before tasting, when I order a bottle at a restaurant I don’t have that long for it to become amazing. Should I stop ordering expensive wines while out and save the good stuff for when i’m at home and can control the pour? I’m confused about this dilemma please help me with this.

Meritage? I think it needs Cab Fran, Cab, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec….you know the Bordeaux grapes. I think Justin was on point, no? Syrah is Rhone and don’t dare tell anyone in California that Zinfandel isn’t theres. I was sternly corrected on a recent jaunt around Napa that the Primitivo is not the same as the Zinfandel; and this was by our limo driver!! They are very proud out there of Zinfandel. But whatever, we get the point…its an interesting Cali-red blend.

PS. 86 episode, huh. Wow. Have you given any thought to doing anything special for the 100th since it is approaching fast? I think THAT should be a QOD for WLTV viewers.

Gary,
If I predict correctly the *halftime* score, do I get a free bottle? I am thinking something like Steelers 14, Dolphins 10. Now, back to the halftime show.

Please send the Carlo Rossi (Reserve if available) to …

Rob

Did a quick Google on “Meritage” and found this:
The Merits of Meritage
By Ben Giliberti
Wednesday, September 29, 2004; Page F07

Take the word “merit” and combine it with “heritage.” Mix well. What you have is Meritage, a relatively recent addition to the wine lexicon, coined to describe wines from California and elsewhere modeled on French Bordeaux. The Meritage concept was supposed to take the world by storm when it was introduced to the public by a group of American vintners in 1988. A decade and a half later, it hasn’t quite worked out that way.

Despite the early hopes, Meritage hasn’t revolutionized the way wine is made, turned the average wine consumer into a savvy connoisseur or made any winemaker rich who wasn’t already. On the other hand, it hasn’t faded into oblivion, which, quite frankly, was what I predicted when it was born.

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So the question is: What exactly has become of Meritage?

First, some background is in order. Meritage was invented to solve a vexing problem: what to call a blended wine if it did not contain enough of one grape (75 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, for example) to be designated as that grape on the label. By the late 1980s, American wine consumers had become conditioned to regard such varietally labeled wines as the epitome of quality. Many winemakers, however, believed the varietal requirement did not necessarily result in the highest quality wine from their vineyards. “Meritage” was coined to identify wines that represent the highest form of the art of blending and to distinguish these wines from the jug wine moniker “red table wine.”

So the requirements for Meritage were set forth: A red Meritage wine must be made from a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the classic Bordeaux grape varieties. The proportions may vary, but at least three of the grape varieties must be used. For white Meritage, only Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon are permitted.

Though the idea of making premium quality blends was sound, the new name stumbled out of the starting gate. Before a single Meritage wine was bottled, there was debate about how to pronounce it. Did it rhyme with “heritage” or the more French sounding “meh-ri TAHJ”? Proponents of the first pronunciation cited its derivation from the words merit and heritage. On the other hand, the wines were modeled on French Bordeaux, and one of the most familiar French wines, Hermitage, which happened to be from Rhone, was pronounced “hehr-me-TAHJ.” The dispute was soon settled by the Meritage Association, a nonprofit group whose purpose is to educate consumers on Meritage wines and promote wines blended in the Bordeaux tradition. The association was in favor of the heritage pronunciation.

The Meritage Association suffered initial rejection from many of the wineries that were its inspiration, such as the Mondavi-Rothschild Opus One, Christian Mouiex’s Dominus and a Joseph Phelps Insignia. These and a few other wineries had pioneered the use of so-called proprietary names for their Bordeaux-type blends well before the formation of the Meritage group, and were among the most respected wines produced in California.

The current president of the Meritage Association, Michaela Rodeno, acknowledges that membership in the association isn’t a prerequisite for producing a high-quality Bordeaux-style blend. But with 121 members today, up from a low of just 22 wineries when she assumed her leadership position in 1999, she has good reason to believe that Meritage is fulfilling its original charter to improve the quality and to promote the enjoyment of Bordeaux-style blends.

“We started out with a major challenge,” she said. “The tremendous potential of blended wines was being ignored by consumers and by wineries. In Bordeaux, they had the freedom to blend Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and the other authorized grape varieties in whatever proportion would make the best wine in a particular vintage,” she said. “In California, owing largely to the percentage requirements in varietal labeling laws, we didn’t always have that freedom. And we wanted it. ” Another problem, said Rodeno, was that the term Reserve, which once had been employed to denote only the finest wines in the best years, had been almost completely devalued through indiscriminant use by mass marketers of indifferent, often inexpensive wines. To prevent this from happening to the term Meritage, the association imposes strict requirements for the use of its trademarked name, limiting production to a level of 25,000 cases per year. The requirement that the Meritage wine be either the most expensive or second most expensive wine produced at the winery is a further assurance of quality.

Rodeno emphasizes, however, that Meritage is about style as well as quality. “The beauty of blended wines like Bordeaux and Meritage is that they are delicious to drink without necessarily needing a lot of aging,” she said. Thus, the Meritage Association markets its wines as a high-quality alternative to the traditional Reserve-style Cabernet and Merlot, which can be hugely tannic, concentrated and difficult to enjoy in their youth. “The best Reserves are magnificent wines, but the reality is many consumers and restaurants are looking for complex, beautifully made wines that can be bought that day and served that night with dinner. That’s the beauty of Meritage.”

Can we come to an overall verdict on Meritage? In my view, against the odds, Meritage is a quiet success, with considerably more influence on consumer taste and preference than is apparent from its seemingly modest share of the total wine market. I don’t think I’ll ever learn to say the name without hesitating over the pronunciation, but by the same token, I don’t expect ever to hesitate about drinking a nice bottle of it.

touchdown Miami!! 24 – 17 here we come! I’ll be there Tuesday to pick up my wine Gary!

Damn missed that bottle of Shat-toe La feet by a few points. Anyway at least Blitzburgh won. You know its too early for this (football). GO YANKS!

SUPER episode Gary. I love that you opened such a special bottle of wine. I purchased half a dozen ’03 Grapplers on your recommendation last year and enjoyed them. I only have one left so I plan to go ahead and get some ’04’s based on your comments that the ’04 is even better.

My “amazing wines” collection includes ’98 Leoville Las Cases and ’00 Leoville Las Cases; also ’03 Leoville Barton — but alas no ’03 Leoville Las Cases. Now after watching you taste I am thinking maybe I need a bottle or two or I may be missing out on something. Gary, you are definitely not good for my savings account!

By the way, I’d would also like to hear the answer to Joe’s final question on comment #9. Thanks!

I’m thinking 28-17 Pittsburgh….Heath Miller? Are you kidding me?
So the Grappler looks a little like Harlan from a distance.

Is that a Goatee shadow I see Gary…? Common, until you can see your Goatee in you Gravatar, is it really worth it?

OK..seriously..tonight…drinking the Massena 11th Hour during the game. You finally hit a home run for me. Excellent bottle, peppery and earthy….very enjoyable.

Jets suck…go Rammies

Solid episode. I agree, the tasting notes are WAY more important than the scores. At times, even if you or others give a wine a low score the flavor description might still convince me it is something I will like.

Steelers 28-21.

Pittsburgh 28-Fins 17. Culpepper throws two int’s one for a touchdown, just a guess. The 86 Cos d’estournel was outstanding! Thanks for the help.

Oh, I was so close! If the Steelers hadn’t intercepted that pass, it would have been 21-17, just like I predicted. I guess I win a jug of Carlo Rossi as the booby prize.

hiya gary……great episode….tasting a $200 wine from your cellers….top man.
Have you considered doing an episode on the bordeaux area cru bourgeois or second label wines from the top chateau as these would be a bit more affordable to the majority of us on here i expect.I have been told that they are great values for money and i have a chateau gloria 1998 sat here just waiting to be opened.But do i open it?
Also what was the larger glass for does it really help having different glass size.
Come on you jets….even though here in the uk we use a different shaped ball…sorry mate…its soccer for me (footie that is)
Best wishes
Nige from the uk

Gary great work

Tooooo much Steve

Give me the wine

Have you seen the new TASTORIA site Gary?

Gary,

I have a suggestion on how to address the wine color issue. How about showing a close up of the wine glass while you swirl it in around? I think this will show the depth and color very well for the viewers. Even now we get a feel of the color as you swirl the glass from a distance. You can see if it has a purple tinge or if it more on the dark red side. What do you think?

Paul

Based on Steve’s comment above, the Twenty Rows is not a meritage because it does not contain three of the grape varities required to be labeled meritage.

What gives?

Gary

Zdrasvechey,

It’s good to see you on the Steelers band wagon. Maybe one foot on and one off. Loved the show and I’m a big fan of Twenty Rows Cab, so I’ll try the Meritage.

I had four years of Russian in High School (Hunterdon Central) Flemington, NJ Thats about all I remember. It’s tough without the correct letters.

Dasvedanya