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2019 Melka Martinez Vineyard Métisse, 1.5ltr

Removed from a professional wine storage facility; Purchased direct from winery

Ends Sunday, 7pm Pacific

RATINGS

97Decanter Magazine (points)

Incredibly giving nose of dense, dark, black-toned fruits tinged with black olive. On the palate the wine boasts deep concentration but through a distinct vein of freshness, making it almost too easy to drink. Black and blue-toned fruits, creme-de-cassis and wild savoury herbs round out this lavish red boasting fine-grained tannins and a finished marked by crushed stones and earth.

96Vinous / IWC

...deep, plush wine that expresses all of the natural radiance and lushness... Super-ripe red cherry, plum, mocha, licorice and spice build in the glass...succulent, plush and inviting, not to mention so delicious.

96+ Jeb Dunnuck

...rich, powerful...serious blackcurrant, dark plum, chocolate, violet, iron, and Asian spice notes as well as full-bodied power and richness on the palate...lifted, perfumed wine...

94-96The Wine Advocate

...powerful notes of crème de cassis, plum preserves and black raspberries with hints of crushed rocks, tobacco leaf, charcoal and iron ore. The full-bodied palate is built like a brick house with a core of rich, ripe fruits and firm, velvety tannins, finishing long and harmonious.

94James Suckling

Loads of graphite and ink to the black fruits on the nose. Full and flavorful with plenty of fruit here but it’s framed nicely with a flavorful finish. Juicy fruit at the end.

PRODUCER

Melka

Melka Wines was created in Napa Valley in 1996 by Philippe and Cherie Melka. The couple are both experienced wine professionals. Philippe, who is from Bordeaux, worked at Chateau Haut-Brion, Petrus, Dominus, and estates in Australia and Italy while earning degrees in winemaking. He became an internationally recognized winemaking consultant and continues to consult. Cheri, a microbiologist by education, ran the laboratory at Ridge Vineyards before meeting Philippe and attending the University of Bordeaux in winemaking. She worked at several Napa Valley producers before helping start Melka Wines. Melka makes Bordeaux-style red wines, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Syrah and Merlot-based blends. Robert M. Parker Jr. has noted that Melka makes “top notch Bordeaux-style wine... (That) is beautiful, high quality wine meant for aging.”

REGION

United States, California, Napa Valley

Napa Valley AVA is the most famous winemaking region in the United States and one of the most prestigious in the world. With nearly 43,000 acres of vineyards and more than 300 wineries, it is the heart of fine wine production in the United States. Winemaking started in Napa in 1838 when George C. Yount planted grapes and began producing wine commercially. Other winemaking pioneers followed in the late 19th century, including the founders of Charles Krug, Schramsberg, Inglenook and Beaulieu Vineyards. An infestation of phylloxera, an insect that attacks vine roots, and the onset of Prohibition nearly wiped out the nascent Napa wine industry in the early 20th century. But by the late 1950s and early 1960s Robert Mondavi and other visionaries were producing quality wines easily distinguishable from the mass-produced jug wines made in California’s Central Valley. Napa Valley’s AVA was established in 1983, and today there are 16 sub-appellations within the Napa Valley AVA. Many grapes grow well in Napa’s Mediterranean climate, but the region is best known for Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay is also very successfully cultivated, and about 30% of the AVA’s acreage is planted to white grapes, with the majority of those grapes being Chardonnay,

VINTAGE

2019 Melka Martinez Vineyard Métisse