St. Francis Anthem Meritage 2008

Last year I had a university alumni event in Sonoma, and as we were headed home, we drove past St. Francis Winery. I have a friend who had been there before and really enjoyed it, so I stopped to check it out. The only wine of theirs I'd had before was Old Vine Zinfandel, which is pretty easy to find in stores and restaurants, and it's a safe bet when you want something inexpensive. The wines at the winery were generally a lot more expensive, but they were really good, too.

My favorite of the bunch was this 2008 Meritage.  Meritage is a Northern California name for Bordeaux-style blend, which means it is made with some or all of the traditional red wines of Bordeaux: cabernet sauvignon, merlot, malbec, petit verdot, cabernet franc. Bordeaux blends are usually heavy on the cabernet sauvignon, but this one is primarily petit verdot and malbec. It's a very big wine, and it tastes like a very serious wine, but it's really good. Not cheap either, I think it was about $60.

The color is very dark, almost inky (that's Mario Puzo's favorite word to describe wine in The Godfather, inky). I'd hate to spill it. The nose promises big things, with strong notes of leather, tobacco, oak, and really ripe fruit. The taste really fills the mouth. It's big in the back and the flavor lingers. It's very spicy and has all the flavors the nose indicated. There's even a little chocolate flavor. It all comes together in a nice way. It totally overwhelmed the pork chops we had for dinner.

This isn't an easy drinking wine; it's one to linger over. It was interesting to see how the flavor changed after the bottle was opened. After an hour, the chocolate flavor was a little more pronounced, and the spiciness had backed off. The next time I'm in Sonoma (which, as it happens, is next weekend), I may have to go back and see what else St. Francis has.