2018 Brecon Meritage (Library, Club Only!)
Always amazes me how something so refined, balanced and sophisticated comes from our scruffy little winemaker. We suspect he will never be fully domesticated, can name the cave he recently crawled out of and has invested heavily in his dragged through a hedge backwards demeanor! The wine however might be more at home on a red carpet. It is draped with some very, very fine oak. A bespoke Savile Row suit, if you like, designed specifically for this wine. Indeed the analogy goes much further as the blend complexity and hidden facets in this wine are akin to an exquisite cloth with a complex weave and the silkyness of super high thread counts.
93pts. purely domestic wine report. 2021
The real skill with a Meritage is undoubtedly in the various blending steps. Subtle vintage variations mean the path to making the wine lively, integrated and above all organoleptically interesting, like this example, differs every year. After all, the last thing anybody wants is a hodgepodge, a mishmash, or a paste up job. For Brecon, it starts early with pre-blends (think baby steps in blending), tannin management, and careful oak integration.
| Vintage | 2018 |
| Varietal | Meritage |
| Varietal Composition | 35.57% Cabernet, Brecon
38.16% Petit Verdot, Brecon
21.27% Cab Franc, Parrish
5.00% 19 Petit Verdot, Brecon
|
| Appellation | Paso Robles, Adelaida |
| Sugar | 0.04g/100ml |
| Acid | 0.61g/100ml |
| PH | 3.73 |
| Aging | Drink Now - 2030 |
| Alcohol | 14.80% |
| Volume | 750 ml |
| Bottling Date | 12/16/2020 |
| Cases Produced | 335 |
Since procuring Brecon (way, way back in 2012!) we have been slowly progressing towards making the Meritage wholly from Estate fruit. It's those exceptional clonal selections we have “oh so patiently” been waiting to come online. You might conceivably argue that we are oh so close as almost 80% of the way there with this blend. The old vine Cabernet Sauvignons complexity still dominates while the modern clones add brightness, color and structure.
