Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve 2009 Meritage Napa Valley

December 28, 2011

Matt $11-$20 Price Point, 2009, Buy-Half-A-Case, JBA Cellars, Meritage, Napa Valley, Trader Joe's Exclusive, Trader Joe's Grand Reserve 7 Comments

Trader Joe's Grand Reserve Meritage 2009 Napa Valley

The Wine: One of my first wine reviews was of the 2008 Grand Reserve Meritage. And to be honest, it was the wine which got me to cross the Rubicon and start this blog. Trader Joe’s has some wines worth talking about. I was excited to see Trader Joe’s kept its relationship with it’s ‘super’ source in Napa Valley for a sequel vintage of Meritage. This wine must have been a success and there is now a choice between a 750ml bottle and 1.5 litre (two bottle) Magnum for the 2009 vintage. But 2009 presented some challenges to Napa Cab growers. Two storms in October presented a fork in the road and wineries/vineyards had only two choices: Let the fruit hang and risk rot/mold or harvest not fully ripened Cabernet Sauvignon. Will this wine live up to the great 2008?

(A quick refresher, a Meritage is a proprietary blend of Bordeaux grapes – Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, etc… Click here for more info.)

The Experience: *Wine was decanted by Menu aerator - it wasn’t a sample.

Color: Fairly deep purple/garnet – young.

Nose: Kinda wound up and not offering up too much. Some dusty notes, dark fruit – but oddly, no real noticeable barrel tones. (Vanilla, espresso, wood, etc…) The austerity and non-’green’ or ‘black olive’ components to this wine are leading me to believe this is not a Cabernet Sauvignon dominant blend, Merlot or Malbec dominant perhaps? Is this wine from grapes which were harvested too early?

Palate: Like the nose, austere. Some young and grippier tannins, and not really fruit driven. Typical dark berries, but toned way down. It’s clearly a younger wine. There was even a very noticeable lack of barrel tones to this Napa Valley wine, which was a nice treat. The alcohol heat was also rather in check at 14.30%. Balanced for the most part, but lacking distinguishing features.

Bottom Line: Buy-Half-A-Case

I like’d the 2008 more. BUT! This wine has ‘super’ origins from Napa Valley, literally. I’m giving this recommendation to someone who likes pricer wines ($20+) and is searching for a suitable Tuesday night wine or a’second’ or ‘bottle that isn’t going to break the bank at $13. I had this wine along side some $45+, 93-94 Robert Parker point wines and its lack of ‘great’ concentration showed, but it wasn’t a total wash out by any means. The 2010 Cocobon however… no one revisited it. It’s holiday time, people are opening nicer and additional bottles of wine, this should seriously be a wine to consider.

Wine Tech Stuff: 43% Merlot, 39% Cabernet Saugvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc, 6% Petit Verdot and 5% Malbec.

**Note: I revisited the 2008 Meritage over the holidays; it’s drinking quite nicely but starting to lose structure. It should be drank in the next 12-18 months.


Lost Sonnet 2007 Meritage Napa Valley

May 3, 2011

Matt $10 Price Point, 2007, Give-A-Try, Lost Sonnet, Meritage, Napa Valley, Our Cellars, Worth-Buying 9 Comments

Lost Sonnet 2007 Meritage Napa Valley

The Wine: As of late, I’ve been seeing a lot more Red Wine blends on the shelves of Trader Joe’s; and it makes good sense. Grape growers or wine makers or grape brokers need to move some of their inventory, so they create a blend which results in enough cases for a national or regional grocery store chain, like Trader Joe’s which openly embraces the private or fictitious label wine scene. It’s us, the curious consumer who can really benefit from this sort of situation. Our wine today, Lost Sonnet from ‘Our Cellars’ is no doubt another perfect example; it comes from the same producers as Hamilton Stevens and another Trader Joe’s Reserve Petite Sirah. So, how is this wine?

The Experience:

Color: Fairly rich/dense strawberry, plum hue.

Nose: Quite fragrant berry preserves, vanilla, smokiness, little herbaceous, some wood and baking spices.

Palate: Pretty decent tannins quickly dry your mouth, then a layer of dried berries followed by coco, vanilla, little herby, spiciness and moderate acidity to the finish, which really begins to fall flat after about eight-seconds.

Bottom-Line: Worth-A-Try/Worth-Buying

Here’s a wine that is not really flawed, but nor is it brimming of original character; it’s a result of technical wine making. The appellation is Napa Valley, so it’s true to the appellation with a heavy dose of oak treatment on both the nose and palate. Is this bad? Not necessarily. But you will probably end up saying ‘This tastes like other wines I’ve had from Napa before’. But, probably paid a lot more for! So, on that account, this is good. If you’re looking for a revolutionary wine, this is not the right choice. If you’re looking for a bargin on a Napa Red Wine, this is certainly the right choice. What do you think of this wine?

Wine Info: 

  • Price: $10
  • Alcohol: 14.5%
  • Grape Blend: 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc
  • Appellation: Napa Valley
  • Cellar: Our Cellars, Healdsburg.

Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve – 2008 Meritage – Napa Valley

December 29, 2010

Matt $11-$20 Price Point, 2008, Buy-A-Case, Meritage, Napa Valley, Red Wine, Trader Joe's Grand Reserve 3 Comments

Here’s is a wine with a few things to talk about.

The Wine: Firstly, what kind of grapes does a Meritage consist of?  Isn’t it just another Red Wine?  Not exactly.  A quick glance at Wikipedia will tell you Meritage is a Bordeaux styled wine consisting only of grape varietals from that region of France.  Secondly, wine makers must join an association called ‘The Meritage Alliance’ in order for their wines to carry the Meritage designation.  And they take maintaining brand quality and consistency pretty serious.  For you lawyer types or those interested in legal jargon and definitions, here’s a link to the contract wine makers must sign in order to carry the Meritage label.  These are key indications that the juice inside these Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve bottles is going to be of a higher quality.  And does this wine is just that, high quality!

During a Wine Crew tasting about a month ago, we paired the TJ’s Grand Reserve Meritage ($13) against a Sterling 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon ($20) and BV Georges de Latour 2006 ($90) with great results.   Unanimously we all preferred the Meritage the most.  It’s not that the other wines weren’t good, but this wine just beckons you for another glass since it’s so friendly and inviting to drink.  I was recommending this wine to a customer in the market for a deal at about the $10 price point as a wine worth the extra $3 based on how he wanted to just enjoy a wine sans food; another customer dropped the comment behind us that this wine is amazing and pulled six bottles off the shelf for his cart.  I don’t think I could have asked for a better deal closer; he took two.

The Experience: By just looking at this wine in a nice red wine glass lets you know you are going to like it; it shows such a deep ripe plum purple with hues of dark red velvet.  The nose of this wine has got some depth and interesting tones to it.  I was picking up cigar box, ceder, smoke, Irish peat, sea breeze, dark fruits, vanilla and really enjoyed it all.  The palate delivers in a big way, too.  Juicy dark berries which develops into jammy flavors then sour cherries finished by friendly tannins.  I even picked up this faint lime peel flavor which was a nice addition.  Returning to this wine after trying the dusty and tannic Sterling and Georges de Latour only highlighted this wine’s fruit and velvety texture.

The Bottom Line: Buy-A-Case:  This wine brings reassuring faith in the quality Trader Joe’s can source for their private label selections.  I’ve done the research on this label on the TTB’s website and found the origin of this wine;  I think most people would be super impressed with this source.  I’ve read a few blogs who have been critical of past TJ’s releases and I completely agree with some of the observations.  Not all have been winners.  That’s why I’m building this blog on my own time and very often my own dime.  I enjoy the thrill of the hunt for great wines at steal prices.  Personally, saving $20+ bucks tastes damn good to me.  The Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve is one of those wines.  Buy this wine before I get it all.

Question: Has anyone ever tried a very premium Meritage and tried this wine?  I’d like to hear your thoughts and observations in the comments.

Bonus Dork Info

  • Grape Varietals – 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot and 3% Malbec.
  • Alcohol – 14.1%
  • pH – 3.68
  • SO2 – 96 ppm
  • TA – 6.5 g/L
  • RS – <5 g/L
  • Fining Agent – None

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