2010 Melka Mekerra Metisse La Mekerra Vineyard
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The 2010 La Mekerra, composed of 55% Cabernet Franc and 45% Merlot, is a sexy, complex red revealing notes of bouquet garni, blueberries, forest floor, red and black currants, and hints of lead pencil shavings and flowers in an opulent, medium to full-bodied, rich, luscious style. Complexity is just beginning to emerge in this beauty. Drink it over the next 15+ years. 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
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2010 Metisse La Mekerra Vineyard, a Cabernet Franc/Merlot blend, is striking. Mocha, espresso, grilled herbs, licorice and new leather jump from the glass in this striking, gorgeous wine. Rich, sumptuous and beguiling, the 2010 impresses for its captivating bouquet and drop-dead gorgeous personality. The Cabernet Franc comes through in spades. The 2010 needs a few years to soften, but it is fabulous, even now. The blend is 55% Cabernet Franc and 45% Merlot.
(from a vineyard above Peter Michael, at an altitude of 2,500 feet; the cabernet sauvignon and merlot are planted on clay, the cabernet franc on volcanic ash): Bright medium ruby. Musky aromas of currant, licorice and toffee. Sweet, lush and fine-grained, with rich, approachable flavors of redcurrant, smoke and tobacco. In a soft style: this site, which Philippe Melka describes as "cool but quick to ripen," was harvested relatively early in 2010, before September 30 and October 5.
The 2010 Metisse La Mekerra Vineyard, a Cabernet Franc/Merlot blend, is striking. Mocha, espresso, grilled herbs, licorice and new leather jump from the glass in this striking, gorgeous wine. Rich, sumptuous and beguiling, the 2010 impresses for its captivating bouquet and drop-dead gorgeous personality. The Cabernet Franc comes through in spades. The 2010 needs a few years to soften, but it is fabulous, even now. The blend is 55% Cabernet Franc and 45% Merlot. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2030. Philippe Melka’s roster of consulting clients reads like a Who’s Who of Napa Valley, but the wines Melka makes with his wife Cherie are just as compelling. The Metisse wines are made from vineyards in Knights Valley and St. Helena. Tel. (707) 963-6008