Finger Lakes Wine Hour will be held Saturday, May 31, 2014, 6:00 – 10:00 PM EDT. You can participate by opening a bottle of Finger Lakes wine and tweeting using #FLXwine or commenting on Facebook (Finger Lakes Wine Fan Page). It’s a great opportunity to experience the wine of one of our favorite regions.
Hunt Country Vineyards will always hold a special place in our hearts. It was the very first Finger Lakes winery we visited (in the middle of a rainstorm several years ago). They also produce a range of tasty and affordable wines in a scenic family farm setting.We opened this bottle earlier this week in anticipation of the Finger Lakes Wine Hour promotion. It proved to be a delicious prelude.
The Meritage is medium red in the glass. It has the aroma of a jumble of berries.
On the palate this is a unique blend, not the sedate Bordeaux-style blend you might expect. The body is light to medium. It is 35% Cabernet Franc, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot. Perhaps that’s why it serves up a slice of smoky and woodsy goodness with an accompaniment of juicy berries.
The wine is only produced in years where they are satisfied with the quality and balance of the component wines. Hunt Country has released Meritage in the 2004, 2006 and 2011 years. Seems like we were fortunate to snare this bottle while at the winery since only 421 cases were made.
If this were California, they would slap a “reserve” label on it and crank up the price. I’m pleased to say this was only $18 – and that’s an incredible value.
Each grape variety is fermented separately for an overall equivalent of nine months in the barrel. The alcohol level is moderate at only 12%, making this a tasteful, but not heavy wine.
Our Finger Lakes celebration is off to a galloping start, thanks to Hunt Country Meritage.
Rating: 4 of 5 Value: 5 of 5
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