Today’s 2013 Reserve Alexandre Alexander Valley Sonoma County Winemaker’s Reserve Meritage is a mouthful. In every sense! This rich, dense wine is the latest vintage of the historical, flagship blend that the winery has produced since 1983. Today’s wine is a masterful assemblage of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Petit Verdot, 3% Merlot, 2% Malbec and 1% Cabernet Franc.

What’s a assemblage, you ask? That is a wine whose component parts are fermented individually and then, in the case of Geyser Peak, meticulously blended to create a perfectly balanced wine.

This Meritage is juicy and jammy and sweetly spiced on the nose, with aromas of chocolate covered cherry, cassis, raspberry preserve, licorice, sweet spice, cedar, flint and black pepper. Dark and rich on the palate, with flavors of dark stewed plum, blackberry compote, cassis, black licorice, aged tobacco leaf, pencil shavings, black pepper, and flinty mineral. But don’t take our word for it - check out this video review prepared for us by the winemaker himself:

Here’s what winemaker, Mick Schroeter has to say about this wine:

“First produced in 1983, Geyer Peak Reserve Alexandre is a traditional blend of five classic Bordeaux red grape varietals. Each year, winemaker Mick Schroeter relies on traditional, small-lot fermentation, rigorous selection and extensive trial blending to achieve a consistently stylish, elegantly balanced wine. The twenty-two mile Alexander valley region flanks the Russian River in Sonoma County and is known for its multiple terroirs. First planted to wine grapes by namesake pioneer Cyrus Alexander in 1846, the valley is one of the state’s oldest and most distinguished growing regions. For Bordeaux varietals, I look to prime vineyards from Alexander Valley’s northern and central reaches, where warmer days help develop rich fruit flavors in the grapes. Small lots of grapes were vinified separately and matured in French oak barrels for three months. After lengthy evaluation and trail blending, the final blend was assembled and matured as a single wine for fifteen months.”

Very highly recommended. Very limited.

.

And here’s what the wine press has to say.

91 Points - Virginie Boone, Wine Enthusiast - “Fully concentrated in dusty black fruit and tobacco, this blends 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Petit Verdot, 3% Merlot, 2% Malbec and 1% Cabernet Franc. Mellowed in terms of ripeness and body weight, it offers sizable tannins that provide structure along the midpalate.”