2011 Melka Mekerra Metisse La Mekerra Vineyard

The 2011 La Mekerra (a blend of equal parts Cabernet Franc and Merlot) comes from a vineyard high above the fog line. It is a lusty, ripe mulberry, boysenberry, foresty-scented, medium to full-bodied wine with beautiful fruit, and extra levels of complexity and purity that make it an impressive effort in a touch vintage. Philippe Melka is one of the most respected and successful of the French-born, Bordeaux-educated oenologists working in California. He and his wife Cherie have been doing terrific consulting work for many years, and while he no doubt has to face the same absurd criticisms that some of his colleagues like Michel Rolland confront (all the wines taste the same as all of their clients- wines), nothing could be further from the truth. Melka also has the grit to put his own name on a couple of interesting wines, especially his project in the Knights Valley as well as his Jumping Goat Vineyard wine from St. Helena. Melka always jokes with me that I-m not allowed to score his wines higher than his clients-. However, they are what they are, and these are extremely impressive wines that demand to be taken seriously. Melka-s red wine comes from a site not far from where Peter Michael makes their famed Bordeaux blend, Les Pavots. La Mekerra is usually a blend of nearly equal parts Cabernet Franc and Merlot aged 24-26 months in French oak, of which about half is new. Tel. (707) 963-6008