Mixing it Up With Hannah Nicole Meritage

Note: As a disclaimer, I’d like to point out I received this bottle for review from Wine Q.

I had been meaning to open the 2003 Hannah Nicole Meritage for a little while, but with all that was going on in the past couple weeks, this was the first good chance I got. The Langtry from my previous post was chosen purposefully to have some point of comparison. Since I’ve been drinking a lot of white wines and Zinfandel or Syrah lately, I felt the need to get myself back in context. Although with the winery being in Contra Costa County, I was already familiar with the terroir, drinking plenty of other wines from that area. BK opened the wine, while I got to work preparing dinner. It’s become very important to me to taste the wine first and adjust the seasonings accordingly.

What did I find?
Drinking this wine is like the first drive in a new car, its lush leather seats cushioning the ride. The dirt road hardly jars your trip, despite the potholes, what with that premium set of shocks…. Besides, you’re all caught up in the scenery anyway, admiring the redwoods that line the lane on one side and peppercorn trees on the other. Pop in a stick of cinnamon gum once you’re done with the cherry vanilla coke, and it’s smooth sailing all the way home.

With the flavors of the wine, I decided to season the rack of lamb (a first for me) with tried-and-true olive oil, rosemary, salt, pepper, and the added ingredient of cinnamon to highlight the wine. However, either I didn’t put enough spice in the paste to matter, or the wine was just too soft…but the pairing was not to be one of my big winners. The previously mentioned Langtry ended up being a better match. While its label didn’t list the grapes ( and I couldn’t find them online), I would imagine it to be more Cab heavy, as the wine itself was much bigger. The Hannah Nicole, however, is made up of a blend of 51% Merlot, 34% Cabernet, and 15% Cabernet Franc.

While I’m enjoying a bit of the Hannah Nicole as I write this now, I think it would showcase better when paired with lighter fare–perhaps pork chops with a cherry glaze.