Meritage first appeared in the late 80s after a group of American vintners joined forces to create a name for “New World” wines blended in the tradition of the wines from Bordeaux, France. The word was selected from 1,000’s of entries in an international contest. Meritage - combines “merit,” (high quality), with “heritage,” (historic tradition) into one word. Meritage wines are crafted from the so-called “noble” Bordeaux grape varieties and usually use the very best grapes of the vintage.

Some Meritage wines have proprietary names in addition/ instead of Meritage. A few examples you may have heard of are Merryvale “Profile”, Franciscan “Magnificant” & even though they are not members of the Meritage association Joseph Phelps Insignia and Opus One qualify as Meritage blends.

Ok, enough intro, what is the criteria for a wine to be a Meritage? A Red Meritage is a blend of two or more of the red “noble” Bordeaux varieties — Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Merlot, Petit Verdot and the rarer St. Macaire, Gros Verdot and Carmenère. If the blend includes any other grape variety, it is, by definition, not a Meritage. This means you Menage Y Trois! Also, to qualify as a Meritage, no single grape variety can make up more than 90% of the blend.
In the “New World” most wines are named after the grape variety. However, for a wine to be labeled “Cabernet Sauvignon” labeled it must be at least 75% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. Many winemakers believe the 75+% varietal requirement does not necessarily result in the highest quality wine. Thus, they created the term “Meritage” to identify wines that more fully represent the winemaker’s art of blending and to distinguish these wines from the more generic term, “red table wine.” It seems like kind of a big deal over little…but that is the wine world for you.

Blending is the personal expression of the winemaker’s vision, a combination of skill and intuition that unites the elements of the winemaking process to create a work of art. It is the magic that gifted winemakers use to create wines of intrigue and enchantment. So there.

White Meritage wines are so rare that we should just skip the discussion. ‘Nuff said.
Here are some quick reviews on Meritage wines HWG sampled for this article.
Lyeth, Sonoma County, 2007 – nice color and body with gentle but not obvious fruit. Thin on the middle palate and back. Meh. $18.
Chappellet Mountain Cuvee, Napa Valley, 2006 – complex on the nose which follows thru to the palate. Mixed spices, full fruit flavor and a good balance. $29
Estancia, Paso Robles, 2006 – oak, dill, oak and oak. Pretty nice fruit and dryness but the lack of balance was less than appealing to HWG. $34

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