Winexpert 3 Continents Red & White Meritage 2011

SOLD OUT!

Winexpert is proud to announce our Selection Estate Small Lots 2011. 3 Continents Red Meritage and 3 Continents White Meritage. Review below to learn more about these fantastic wines. Don't miss your chance to make one or both of these outstanding wines. These are a very limited quantity release and will sell out fast.

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Selection Estate Series Small Lots
THREE CONTINENTS RED MERITAGE

Varietals: 70% Spanish Valencia Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Washington Red Mountain Cabernet Franc, 5% Washington Red Mountain Petit Verdot, 5% Chilean Isla del Maipo Merlot and 5% Chilean Isla del Maipo Carménère

Style: Three Continents Red Meritage is the New World expression of the tradition of red Bordeaux wines, blending the gripping tannins and structure of Cabernet Sauvignon, the violets and cedar notes of Petit Verdot, the raspberry and cassis of Cabernet Franc, the cherry and plum fleshiness of Merlot and the red fruit spiciness of Carménère into a uniquely ripe and boldly warm wine.

The vineyards of Valencia are blessed with incredible amounts of sunshine that produces ripe grapes of powerful intensity and Red Mountain’s northern latitude gives long sunshine hours in the late season for slow, even ripening, while the ungrafted vineyards of Isla del Maipo express a purity of fruit expression found nowhere else in the world.

This is an elegant red, beginning with aromas of vanilla and raspberry. On the palate there are ripe flavours of blackberry, blackcurrants, black cherry and spice, giving an overall impression of sweet fruit. The fruit flavours are concentrated but the texture of the wine is smooth, almost silky from the delicately layered French oak. Firm tannins support the concentrated dark fruits and toasted oak flavours that dominate the dry palate. Firm acidity and savoury notes make this wine very food-friendly.

Harvest Conditions: pH 3.6, Brix 23.5, T.A. 4.5g/l

Oak: 60 grams French,60 grams toasted (medium-heavy)

Body: Medium-Full

Similar Styles: Estate Series Stag’s Leap Merlot, Lodi Cabernet Sauvignon

Food Pairings: Grilled meats, roasts, rack of lamb and dark high-cacao chocolate.

Sweetness Code: 0 (completely dry)

Ageing: Drank young this wine will be dominated by oak, tannin and spicy red fruit, but it will transform completely with ageing, showing nuanced floral aromas, flavours of dark cassis and cherries, gaining texture and complexity and depth, especially in its second year.

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Selection Estate Series Small Lots
THREE CONTINENTS WHITE MERITAGE

Varietals: 90% Sauvignon Blanc, 10% Semillon

Sources: California Lake County and Emilia Romagna, Italy (Sauvignon Blanc) and Mullaroo Vineyards South Australia (Semillon)

Style: Meritage is the New World expression of the tradition of White Bordeaux wines, blending the crisp herbaceousness of Sauvignon Blanc with the rounded melony fruit of Semillon for a fully rounded and robust wine, age-worthy and oak-kissed, with a more fully ripe character that rewards early drinking and cellaring in unique ways. Lake County’s rich red volcanic soil produces grapes of crisp acidity and lush aromatics, the vineyards of Emilia Romagna, at the foothills of the Apennine mountains are blessed with superb minerals and cool sunny days for grapes of powerful intensity, and South Australia’s long sunshine hours bring out the honeyed-melon notes of Semillon for depth and finish.

Medium-light yellow color, the nose brings out a fragrant combination of peach, rose, tangerine and honey accompanied by Sauvignon Blanc’s delicate scents of fresh grass. Flavour notes of ripe honeydew melon, kiwi, and citrus are warm and deep with a slightly creamy silkiness. This wine is well balanced, but where it really surprises is mouth-feel: many new-world Meritage wines have a sharp tanginess that showcases Sauvignon Blanc’s swingeing acids, Winexpert’s Three Continents Meritage finish is long, with the wine’s acidity nicely tamed with rose and tangerine form the final notes.

Harvest Conditions: pH 3.75, Brix 21.5, T.A. 7.6g/l

Oak: 30 grams French oak (light)

Body: Medium-Full

Similar Styles: Estate Series Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

Food Pairings: Grilled scallops, mussels, broiled lobster, pasta with cream sauces or soft cheeses with ripe fruit.

Sweetness Code: 0 (completely dry)

Ageing: With zesty aromas of white fruit and a fresh grassiness, this wine is tempting to drink young but it will open up considerably with ageing, showing rounded flavours of melon and honey, gaining texture and complexity. Refrigerator temperature will hide the floral and tropical fruit notes, but slightly warmer (8-10 degrees C) it opens up as a lush, food-friendly wine.