2005 Guy Drew Vineyards Meritage, Cortez, Colorado
Colorado makes wine?! You bet, the state is home to dozens of wineries! Colorado gets tons of sunshine, has a dry climate, and features diverse mountainous geography. Why wouldn't adventurous vintners give it a try?
Despite that introduction, this was the first time I got a chance to try a Colorado wine as I was transferring through the Denver airport. The airport bar's wine list had this to say about this selection: "rich, velvet, bright fruit, balanced acidity and integrated tannins."
I agree that it's rich -- extremely rich with chunky, austere mouth drying dusty tannins. The nose features bright fruit but also some heat from the alcohol. The wine was aged in used and new French oak, and it shows. This bordeaux style blend is intense, rustic and, given its geographic source, an interesting effort. With its concentrated flavor and intense tannins, this would be better with some additional aging - perhaps another 5-10 years.
The retail price according to the Guy Drew website is $19, a reasonable price to pay for a wine that sees a few years of oak aging before release. I don't see Colorado wines distributed often (at least outside Colorado!), so curious drinkers will probably need to order direct from the winery.
I'll stop short of recommending readers seek this out, but I do encourage folks to keep trying new wines, and if you haven't tried a bottle from Colorado it's time to hunt one down!
[Note: I tasted this wine by the glass from a wine bar; it is possible that it had been open for a few days before tasting]
