Burrowing Owl Vineyards

About 1,500 cases of this wine have been released and, like all Burrowing Owl wines, has quickly become hard to find. The winery began releasing Meritage wine in the 2000 vintage. It made its reputation for this blend with the 2002 Meritage, which scored two “best of class” awards at major California competitions.

With the 2004, winemaker Steve Wyse set out to raise the bar, adding a touch of Malbec and Petit Verdot for the first time. The object, as the winery puts it, was to “add a little more zip.” He might even be able to make subsequent vintages zippier as the vineyard’s young Malbec and Petit Verdot plantings become fully productive. On tasting this wine, however, one is reminded of the adage: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

This is a delicious wine, with red fruit aromas simply spilling from the glass. There is a core of sweet fruit flavours on the palate – plums, cherries, red currents, black berries – with a rich and spicy finish. A half bottle saved for the second day was a revelation. The wine blossomed to full-bodied richness, with satisfying layers of flavours and a very long finish. Clearly, this wine should be cellared or decanted for immediate consumption. 90 points.

Reviewed November 24, 2006 by John Schreiner.