Fall Creek Meritus 2006

Price: $39
Maker: Fall Creek Vineyards, Tow, Texas
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon & Merlot blend
Packaging: 750 ml bottle, natural cork
Alcohol: 15.9%
Our Rating: 9.3 out of 10

I pulled a bottle of Fall Creek Meritus 2006 off my shelf without knowing anything about it, other than the fact that it was prominently labeled as a Texas wine. That’s not necessarily the most promising introduction. When I uncorked it and tasted this blend, though, I was surprised in a big way. The wine was very dark garnet in color, and its aroma was mostly spicy with some tobacco and clove notes. The taste is what blew me away. This blend is BIG, with lots of black cherry and blackberry leading into an oaky finish with robust tannins. This wine really expands in the tasting, with a long finish.

Fall Creek describes their Meritus in this way:

MERITUS is a single-wine, super-premium brand produced by Fall Creek Vineyards. The vision behind MERITUS was to create a red wine in Texas that has no equal. In 1999, the vision became reality with the first release, and the 1996 MERITUS was a wine that could stand toe to toe with the great wines from California and Europe. Since then, MERITUS has reached ‘cult’ wine status. MERITUS has not only been critically acclaimed, but it has been called “the finest wine red or white ever produced in the state of Texas” by a noted author and wine writer.

Had I known all this before I uncorked it, I might have saved the bottle for a special occasion. As it was, the wine was a great accompaniment to some medium-rare ribeye steaks right off the grill. The alcohol content of this wine is higher than a typical Cab or Merlot, and perhaps that’s part of their secret for producing a wine this explosive.

All in all, I highly recommend Fall Creek Meritus 2006. Not only is it a really good red, it has a great novelty factor with its Texas origin. This is a wine that can hold its own against California wines costing as much or more, and your friends will be amazed that it’s from the Lone Star State.