You’ve no doubt heard of Meiomi, the ubiquitous label which created and marketed a Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that was, and is, available everywhere. That label was the brainchild of Joseph Wagner, son of Chuck Wagner. The Wagner Family of Wines is also ubiquitous and has grown tremendously. Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the best selling Cabernet Sauvignons every year. This is a wine family through and through.
About ten years ago Joseph sold the Meiomi label for an obscene amount of money. He then turned his attention to making his own wines, from his own estate grapes, with a drive for excellence. The results continue to impress, and the wines are really exciting. His Copper Cane labels include Boen, modeled after the quality and approach of Meiomi before its sale. There is also Belle Glos, primarily known for Pinot Noir, and Quilt, producer of rich and beautiful Cabernnet Sauvignon. The newest additions are Elouan and Threadcount, as the label grows in number and diversity.
We recently had a chance to taste through a series of wines from Joe. We’ll start with two very surprising ones, a white and a rosé.
We mentioned Boen was a homage to what Meiomi once was. We had not sampled anything from this label before, and this one was a Chardonnay, not our favorite varietal. None the less we pressed on for the sake of the blog. We were pleasantly surprised.
2022 Boen Coastal Standard Chardonnay: This wine has a beautiful nose of ripe fruits, honeysuckle and just
a hint of butter. It is simply gorgeous on the palate, smooth with additional flavors of apple and pear. The finish is clean and long. This is luxurious and so delicious. The oak is gentle, which led me to believe it had seen all nuetral oak, but not the case. It was finished in new French oak. Apparently the fruit is harvested a little early, giving it a litle more acid that holds its own during the finishing process. The result is a spectacular value wine. $25 SRP but we got it for $18 on sale. Cheri does not like Chardonnay, but she loves this. Highly recommended.
2022 Belle Glos Rosé Oeil de Pardrix: Yet another of our least favorite styles of wine, we were not hopeful it
could match the pleasant surprise of the Chardonnay. But it did! Raspberry, orange and strawberry come across on the nose. This is made with Pinot Noir grapes grown expressly for making Rosé. It also sees new French oak. The result is a seamless wine with good acid and a balanced profile, as well as a silkiness and creamy aspect you wouldn’t expect from an average Rosé. This is not an average Rosé. This is elevated, and also a great value at an SRP of $25. Our sale price was $20. Another very highly recommended wine.
There was much more, from powerful yet elegant Pinot Noir to classic Napa Cabernet, but we’ll get to those another time. For now we’ll just reiterate that the two wines above are superior values and worth your attention.
More to come.
A votre santé!
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