Somewhat of a milestone in a couple respects here. This is
the 50th entry on the HSC blog, itself now about 3 years strong and
this is one of the few wines that I’ve found out of state and wasn’t available
in Utah at the time I bought it (shhhh), though I expect by the time this is
posted, it will be. In many ways, it is probably fitting that a variation of
the wine I buy the most (Menaga A Trois, barely edging out Dark Horse), of a
type I buy the most (blend), from the region I buy from the most (California),
should be the 50th entry. Perhaps I make too much of this, but I
find it to be a kind of cool touch.
Often a wine will introduce a darker version, which we
anticipate to be a similar, but a lot more robust blend, but in actuality, will
turn out to be nearly undrinkable (looking at you in particular, Apothic – as
an aside, I guess another sort of milestone is me both referencing and calling
out other wines in the context of an entry for a different wine – ok, I’ll stop
now), but here, the blend is exactly right. This is a deeper, much richer, much
more vivid and weighty version of the much beloved Menage A Trois. In many
ways, this is the ultimate, as it is different, but equal in terms of quality.
The blend itself, Merlot, Cab, Petite Syrah and Petite
Verdot (should be Menage a Quatre, technically and if this stops being a
limited edition wine, perhaps they’ll switch the name to that, though the
inverse of the regular label works very nicely with the “midnight” motif),
works very well together. A ton of rich, heavy varietals in the Syrah and Cabs,
as well as the usual concentrated punch from the Verdot, also contributes
nicely to the darkness of the actual wine. Darker fruit is in heavy abundance
here, so blackberries, dark plums and a touch of currant, yet the presence of
Merlot keeps things from getting too clunky. Despite the largely astringent
nature of the various grapes here, this mellows out quickly and becomes both
smooth and flavorful, with a very nice mouth heft to it, another similarity it
shares with the Original MAT blend.
A wine this good, like the Original, particularly at the
very soft price point, can’t be anything but a Standard, so this one shares
that same facet with the Original. Both of these are among the strongest
offerings this list has to offer and it wouldn’t be the worst idea to get a
bottle of each to compare…
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