Meyer Family Cellars

Matt and Karen Meyer learned to make wine all over the place. Between them they have studied or worked in Australia, New Zealand, Napa Valley, Willamette Valley, and Yorkville Highlands. The latter location is home to their winery, Meyer Family Cellars. They expect to source all their fruit from their home appellation starting from the 2006 vintage; this wine came from seven vineyards in other parts of Mendocino County. The Meyers’ eclectic experience helped them blend the fruit together into an impressive whole.

The wine is aromatically intense, featuring red plums and cherries sweetened with new oak, and concentrated and focused on entry, with naturally ripe tannins that have been polished with extra barrel time. While it fills your mouth easily and lasts long on the palate, the wine is just 13.5% alcohol and there’s no discernable fat. Rather you get admirable consistency across aroma, flavor and finish plus a gentle but firm grip on your palate that suggests a natural pairing with roasted meat or a slow-cooked stew. I would decant an hour before current drinking or cellar another two to four years.

Reviewed June 11, 2007 by Thom Elkjer.