Tasting Note: NV Meyer Family Port

[Will W.]

Produced by Meyer Family Cellars in Yorkville, California, this fortified wine is made (according to the technical sheet) in accordance with a variation on the solera. Evidently, some twenty vintages go into each bottle, making for an age of fifteen years “on average”, with an “age at release” of nine years. Questions regarding how the two ages found in the technical sheet might be reconciled with one another should be directed to the Meyer Family.

The wine was by no means offensive; rather, it was highly unusual, at least in the experience of your correspondent, who has never been to California nor consumed (prior to the bottle under review) fortified Zinfandel. At any rate, in the glass this wine looked very much like a young ruby; that is, it was deep purple in colour and entirely opaque. Likewise, the pronounced nose was reminiscent of a young vintage port, presenting as it did a combination of stewed red fruits and mineral-infused earth. On the palate, the red fruits dominated – cherry notes, in particular. The finish was rather clipped, with a fair bit of warmth at the back end. Seen through the lens of the Douro, the Meyer Family Port struck this reviewer as being somewhat akin to a late-bottled vintage port. Whilst it was hardly a wine that your correspondent has resolved to seek out in the future, this curiosity – brought to Europe by an American oenophile whose expertise lies in the field of still wines – was most certainly worth a try. That noted, residents of the West Coast of the Great Republic shall nonetheless draw their own conclusions should they likewise stumble upon this product.