TN: Meiomi PinotNoir '17...(short/boring)

Based on EricAsimov’s rec for this wine, I cracked at Susan’s:

  1. Meiomi PinotNoir (13.7%; 56% MontereyCnty/26% SBCnty/18% SonomaCnty; www.Meiomi.com) MeiomiWines/Acampo 2017: Very dark color uncharacteristic of PN w/ thick/heavy legs; strong fruity vaguely PN/black cherry almost blackcurranty/Cab some toasty/oak light earthy rather simple/forward/fruity nose; very soft/fat bit porky strong grapey/fruity vaguely PN/black cherry more blackcurranty/Cab some toasty/oak big fruit flavor w/ light almost no tannins; med.long strong grapey/fruity maybe off-dry (0.5%-0.7% r.s.?) vaguely PN/black cherry mostly blackcurranty/Cab some toasty/oak big fruit finish w/ almost no tannins; a porky/big fruit/confected red that speaks only vaguely of PN and more like blackcurranty/Cab; not a bad red but just utterly boring. $16.00 (SMP)

A wee BloodyPulpit:

  1. This wine was pretty much about what I expected. Big fruit & utterly boring, though not as boring as a 2$Chuck. There was nothing I could put my finger as making it spoofalated, but I’m sure it was the best their lab could concoct. It certainly didn’t speak any of Monterey PN. Not sure where the blackcurranty character came from but perhaps the MegaPurple. It actually went perfectly fine w/ the GreenChile Stew, but pretty boring to taste on its own.
    This was, of course, the wnry started by JoeyWagner of Caymus fame. No vnyds, all purchased grapes. He sold it to Constellation for big $$'s. So this came from their mega-factory over in Acampo.
    Tom

pileon

Sounds about right. Apologies for the drift, but I got to taste Caymus Special Select (2014) this holiday season and it was kinda in the same league (spoofilated & nondescript), but definitely chocolate milk dominated. Quite the turn-off for my taste, but my buddy who brought it commented “smooth” and “rich”. To each his own. Cheers!

I’m shocked at the low ABV. My hunch is they watered back that wine.

I tried Meiomi about 5 years ago and went in without any preconceptions. As I recall, it tastes of sweet chewing tobacco — really vile. From your note, it actually seems like the wine is improving, but that’s a low bar to clear.

Looking forward to your note on Apothic Red.

We are grateful for your public-spiritedness, Tom.

Better you than me.

I tasted the 2016 Meiomi soon after release (my Constellation rep had it in a lineup that day). Quite possibly the worst wine I’ve ever tried. Inky purple, zero resemblance to any Pinot Noir I’ve ever had before or since. Yikes.

Quite brave of you Tom! Your willingness to try it all is commendable.

Meiomi is not “spoofalated,” as you put it, it’s just late harvested the same as its other Wagner wine brethren, the Belle Glos Pinot Noir line. The thing is, Pinot Noir is not meant to be late harvested as a grape. From what an Ontario winemaker once told me, it will very rapidly lose its acidity, build up its sugars and overripen quickly. I have commented positively on the Belle Glos wines in the past as I have approached them as “Pinotrone”, essentially an Amarone made from ripe Pinot Noir. I know it’s not to most Berserkers’ liking and they aren’t actually part of my own collection, but I respect what Wagner was intending to accomplish with them and feel that it was successful.

The Meiomi, on the other hand, utterly perplexes me. Virtually no fruit taste, all oak and sugar with a faintly vague sweet cherry flavor that struggles to make it through. I have no idea what the intent of the wine is other than sales and why exactly it is so popular.

My guess is that they used RO.
Don’t get your hopes up on that, Corey.
Tom

The one we tried a couple years ago (for kicks at a Berserker OL) tasted like oaked up later press wine. As in when pressure from the press is built up to the point sugar starts getting squeezed out of the solids that hadn’t broken down, and the level of extraction is high. No hint of raisin, but certainly fully ripe and dense, so late picked would make sense. Super-primary to a degree most consumers wouldn’t normally get a chance to try. So, it was sort of like they picked late, pressed when there was still a bit of sugar, halted fermentation and evolution, added oak product to the tanks. Did not get any non-Pinot character, though. But, that was Wagner era, so who knows what, if anything, was carried over.

What a mouth-watering description, Wes!

So, you didn’t get any non-pinot character. Did you get any pinot character?

The oak-sugar-cherry combo seems to be a reliable formula for sales regardless of the (alleged) grape type.

I haven’t tried Meiomi. That said blindly I have to agree that a $16 wine that is widely available is a good recommendation.

We live in a society that speaks dry and drinks sweet. These threads crack me up as this was never developed or conceived for this crowd, and 1.2 million cases in sales says that with an exclamation point…a lot of profit built into this price point and that kind of case depletions.

(No, I dont sell Meiomi, but have in the past)

Charlie Wagner must be rolling over in his grave.

Yes, it was pure Pinot character. But, as I described, most people wouldn’t likely perceive it as such.

The one time I tried this, maybe 3- 5 years ago, this was my impression. Oak, sugar and sweet cherry. yech.

665 Comments on the NYTimes site since Dec 28th: NYTimes - Our Critic Wants You to Try These Supermarket Wines. I’m wondering if/when Asimov will post his TNs?

Tom, way to take one for the team. Interesting research: Meiomi PN, The Prisoner, and Apothic Red, as long as someone else is doing it. [wink.gif]

RT

I am literally at the Bayview Village LCBO tasting bar as I type this sipping the latest vintage of the Belle Glos Dairyman Pinot Noir. Once again, sweet ripe cherry pie and and smooth texture though perhaps a bit too much oak. Regardless, still a Pinotrone dessert wine and high quality.

Richsrd’s last post above reminded me of something I meant to tell everyone. At my family’s Xmassukah dinner this year, I brought a Vincent Girardin 2010 1ere Cru Santenay and my sisters brought an Apothic Red. I was also going to take a hit for the board but I am very proud to say that I got my sisters to drink the Santenay and the Apothic Red went untouched. They enjoyed it as did I. I am sorry to see my last 2010 Burgundy go but it died for a good cause.

The bottom line - most folks want to ‘drink’ pinot but don’t really want the earthy, acid driven pinots that so many on this board prefer. So many on this board comment that folks love KBs and Seasmokes when shared because, guess what, they tend to be fruit forward.

It is no surprise that so many like this wine. Does it taste like ‘pinot’? Well . . . what is your benchmark for the variety? My guess is that for the general public, it IS Meiomi or Belle Glos.

Cheers.