Benmarl Proprietor's Reserve 2010 - Fantastic!

Ok, so I was at the NY Drinks NY event, and Matt Spaccarelli of Benmarl Winery pulls out this black labeled wine, and I was thinking to myself, “What’s that? Something new?”

Indeed it was. It was their 2010 Proprietor’s Reserve! This is a meritage-styled wine from Benmarl winery, the folks who made Baco Noir famous! Man, I had to get me some of that! But it was a crazy show, and I was finding it hard to get over to the table. At the end of the night, Matt approached me with a bottle in hand. He offered me a trade, and I took it like a child takes a cookie off the top of a fresh baked plate of ‘em!

So when I got home last night, Dominique had made terrific Bolognese pasta sauce with peas over angel hair. I was ready. I pulled out a nice Reidel wine glass, popped the cork on this new wine, and settled back.

This 2010 vintage, a medium bodied dry red, is a blend of 82% merlot, 10% petit verdot, 3% malbec and 5% cabernet franc. Stewed dark fruits, dried cherries, and black pepper all come through on the nose as promised. The dark fruits come across the palate as well, with big hits of dark raspberries, dark cherries, dark plum come across with hints of vanilla and spice. Nice tannins provide classic structure. But the deep fruits linger a nice long time.

A great wine! Wonderful. Would love to see more meritages in the valley! This is a great reason why!