Lost Sonnet - 2007 Meritage ($10)

Cellared/bottled by Our Cellars from Healdsburg, this meritage is 58% Cab; 22% Merlot, and 20% Cab Franc. It's a wine that has been getting a lot of praise on other blogs lately so I wanted to give it a shot. Plenty of dark fruit and a little cherry, followed by a nice hit of both chocolate and vanilla. The fact that this wine has been in a bottle for 3 plus years really shows as the oak doesn't really come through all that strong. Mellow tannins and one of the shortest finishes I can ever remember. Seriously, when that last gulp goes down your throat, that's it. But hey, sure is tasty going down. Smooth, well balanced, plenty of different layers to tease the taste buds. I've read some folks who say they will cellar some bottles for a few years down the road. I'm not so sure. I kind of think this wine is at its peak and is best drank now, right now! The few years that this juice has sat in the bottle has already perfectly mellowed both the oak and tannins. So I say enjoy in 2011; not 2014. VERDICT: Get it!

Hogue Cellars - Genesis Meritage 2007 ($8)

Found a couple comments online about this wine being a steal and on the shelves at TJs. It's a blend of 49% Merlot, 44% Cab, 6% Malbec, and 1% Cab Franc - and from the Columbia Valley in Washington State. Online sites reveal that this wine generally sells for twice as much than the $7.99 at TJ. First taste is very heavy in green flavors (bell pepper, olive, etc) with oak & spice and almost no fruit to be found. I set the glass down for a bit and after it had the chance to open up, what a difference. The green and spice factor was still there, but was somewhat muted by cherry and plum flavors that showed nicely. Not overpowering fruit by any means. A fruit bomb this is not! Tannins were medium but lingered quite nicely on the finish. Label says something about cocoa on the finish, but I really didn't get any of that. If you are looking for that big fruit forward easy drinking Cab or Merlot, this wine is not for you. This wine is more of the European Bordeaux style with different levels of complexity - and if you can keep an open mind and embrace that fact, by all means try this wine. I've got a second bottle on hand, and I think I will give it an hour of decanting next time. I'll also be picking up a few more bottles as I'd like to cellar some and see how they fare a few years down the road. And for $8 - pretty darn good deal. I had a Meritage that Advocate scored a 90 recently - and much preferred the Hogue Genesis. VERDICT: Get it!