Meeker Reds

2019 Winemaker's Handprint Merlot
Sonoma County—California
14.8% Alcohol by Volume

In the beginning, we put our handprints on these bottles so everyone would know it was a Meeker Merlot - big, fruit-forward, full-bodied, and with tannic structure for days. Now you know what kind of wine this is! But we keep handprinting because the bottles are just so darned gorgeous.

And this 2019 Winemaker’s Handprint Merlot is a classic. Dark fruit like currants and cherries marry on the nose with hints of toffee and caramel. The wine explodes on your palate with more cherries, and hints of the best strawberry rhubarb pie you’ve ever had. There’s no shortage of subtle, toasty oak and big, powerful tannins throughout the palate and finish of this wine. This 2018 Handprint will age beautifully and develop more richness and roundness for years to come.

Sonoma County
14.9% ABV

The only thing better than a glass of Winemaker's Handprint Merlot is a bottle of Handprint Merlot. And the only thing truly better than a bottle of Handprint Merlot is a magnum of Handprint Merlot. This "double bottle" contains 1.5 liters of our Handprint Merlot with winemaker Lucas Meeker's handprints turned into a Thanksgiving "Turkey" just like most of us made in grade school. Magnum bottles make a great holiday gift - and they will age more gradually than a standard bottle - making them a great cornerstone of your wine cellar. 

As most of our customers know, Meeker Handprint is a big Merlot, featuring tannic, spicy cherry flavors and a strong backbone. This is a Cabernet-drinker's Merlot.

Interested in an even bigger bottle? Call the tasting room and see what extra-large formats we have on hand!

2018 Winemaker’s Handprint
Cabernet Sauvignon
Sonoma County—California
14.9% Alcohol by Volume

We’re proud to announce the first addition to our Handprint series: the Handprint Cabernet Sauvignon. 

In 1992, when we first started making our Winemaker’s Handprint Merlot, merlot was a denigrated, under-rated varietal. We needed a way to let folks know that we stood by Merlot—that it was a Meeker Merlot. Firm, full-bodied, ready to age for decades. And from the very beginning, folks asked for more Handprints: Cabs, Zins, whatever their favorites were. 

My Dad always said no. Merlot needed and deserved that special attention. Since my Dad passed in 2021, I’ve looked for ways to build on his legacy while continuing to evolve the wines we make and the techniques we use to create them. Today, I’m proud to share a new facet of our unique approach to making Cab. 

We’ve always developing and refining our techniques to make Cab our way; with long aging potential and a classic structure-forward focus. We're excited with what we're calling our "late oak" technique and feel it’s time to give it a new showcase. 

Just like the Handprint Merlot, I handprint every bottle, one at a time. And with a left hand on the front, these bottles will look perfect side by side with a bottle of Handprint Merlot. From our hands to yours—these are Meeker wines we hope will grace your tables when you make core memories with your families and friends.

6 year Vertical of Winemakers Handprint Merlot:
Bundle Price: $378
Retail: $420

Includes one bottle each of our 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013

$336, $315, $294 with your respective Tribe discount. Discount for Tribe members will be calculated during final processing.

2008 Handprint - Retail: $75

2009 Handprint - Retail: $75

2010 Handprint -  Retail: $75

2011 Handprint -  Retail: $65

2012 Handprint - Retail: $65

2013 Handprint - Retail: $65

2022 Nakai Vyd. Pinot Noir
Clones:  828, 777, 667, 115, and Swan
Russian River Valley—Sonoma County
14.2% ABV
91 cases produced

Aki Nakai has lived on and farmed his vineyard on the Wood Road bench for decades. His meticulous care combined with the extended hangtime of the site yields plush, complex fruit. Grapes like Aki’s demand our best, and one of the most rewarding parts of winemaking is to honor his work with ours.

The 2022 Nakai Pinot Noir is a follow-up to the 2020 and this is a strong sequel. We’re really hitting our stride with this vineyard: its strengthsare geared towards complexity and subtlety, and leaning in tothat has allowed the wine to exhibit prominent floral aromaticsthat outpunch the core red fruit character that Russian RiverValley delivers.

Moreover, I’m very fond of the refined structure thisvineyard reliably yields. So much Pinot Noir is made with an aggressive oak program, relying on the wood to givestructure and complexity where the other fruit might not have it. This wine is made with very little oak influence–no new barrels at all–which allows the elegance and polish to shine unobstructured. The tannins are more than moderately firm,but they rise and fall seamlessly.

2022 Mourvèdre
La Sierra Vineyard—Block 8
High Valley—Lake County
California
14.7% Alcohol by Volume

Mourvèdre is hard to find in our neck of the woods, so we ventured  to Shannon Ranch in northesastern Lake County. We were particularly enamored with Block 8 of  La Sierra, where a small block of head-trained immaculately-farmed Mourvedre wraps the western slope of a hilltop and yields incredible fruit for us to make this wine.

Note: This product is not available for purchase to South Dakota Customers.

2021 Mourvèdre
La Sierra Vineyard—Block 8
High Valley—Lake County
California
14.7% Alcohol by Volume

Mourvèdre is hard to find in our neck of the woods, so we ventured  to Shannon Ranch in northesastern Lake County. We were particularly enamored with Block 8 of  La Sierra, where a small block of head-trained immaculately-farmed Mourvedre wraps the western slope of a hilltop and yields incredible fruit for us to make this wine.

Note: This product is not available for purchase to South Dakota Customers.

2020 Syrah

Andrew's Vineyard
Suisan Valley
Solano County—California
14.8% Alcohol By Volume

We love to search regions all over California for beautiful fits between vineyard and enviroments. That fit is almost always the result of growers with the dedication to one that fit over time. The second and third generation of Andrew's work this vineayrd together to bring us incredible fruit from their family farm in the Suisan Valley.

Syrah has more range than any other pinnacle grape, and this wine is shows a facet of that range that is new for Meeker. This is easy-going but not shallow. It's still nuanced, classic Syrah at its core. Blueberry pie, eucalytus, and aged leather on the nose. It's high-toned, round and deft on the palate with reminders of crushed mint and pipe tobacco. The finish rides a creamy, soft acidity and closes with suede-ish tannins that say "see you soon!" like a handstamp for same day re-entry. Drink now or before this teenager graduates college.

Note: This product is not available for purchase to South Dakota Customers.

2020 Syrah
Andrew's Vineyard
Suisan Valley
Solano County—California
14.8% Alcohol By Volume

We love to search regions all over California for beautiful fits between vineyard and enviroments. That fit is almost always the result of growers with the dedication to one that fit over time. The second and third generation of Andrew's work this vineayrd together to bring us incredible fruit from their family farm in the Suisan Valley.

Syrah has more range than any other pinnacle grape, and this wine is shows a facet of that range that is new for Meeker. This is easy-going but not shallow. It's still nuanced, classic Syrah at its core. Blueberry pie, eucalytus, and aged leather on the nose. It's high-toned, round and deft on the palate with reminders of crushed mint and pipe tobacco. The finish rides a creamy, soft acidity and closes with suede-ish tannins that say "see you soon!" like a handstamp for same day re-entry. Drink now or before this teenager graduates college.

Note: This product is not available for purchase to South Dakota Customers.

2021 "Bessie" Zinfandel

North Coast—California
14.9% Alcohol by Volume

Bessie is named after the 3000 gallon oak tank that we installed at our first winery on the west side of Dry Creek Valley. Bessie fermented many of our Zinfandels for two decades. This Zin exhibits traditional character: big fruit, big spice, and a round mid palate with an extended finish. The nose shines with blackberry, currant, anise and black pepper. The wine shines with jammy, round structure on the front and mid-palate with a soft mouthfeel. The finish incorporates soft tannin and bright acidity to illustrate good aging potential.

2019 Italo Zinfandel
Italo Vineyard
Alexander Valley—California
14.9% Alcohol by Volume
147 cases produced

The Zinfandel vines at Italo's Vineyard-planted in the 1930s-are some of the oldest we have ever worked with. Zinfandel is the heritage grape of our winery as well as our region, and it's a privilege to honor that heritage with a wine from this stawart vineyard on the west edge of Alexander Valley.

2022 Mazzoni Home Ranch Zinfandel
Alexander Valley
Sonoma County—California
14.8% Alcohol by Volume
220 cases produced

Mazzoni Home Ranch was orginally purchased by Giuseppe Mazzoni in 1899 and first planted in 1900. It is primarily Zinfandel but, like most vineyards from that era, has a menagerie of interplanted other stuff including Petite Sirah, Carignane, Golden Chasselas, and a handful of others. The Oltranti family acquired the ranch in the 1988 and expanded and replanted some of the vineyard. While we also made wine from some of vineyard. While we also made wine from some of the newer blocks in 2022 and 2023, this wine exclusively from the oldest block with vines dating back over 100 years.

We treated this fruit with respect that it deserves. Extra time on skins, a gentle press to barrel ans some extended lees contact. It's 100% of the lot and vineyard. We didn't blend anything into it, we wouldn't dare. We gave the fruit the work it needed to fully express the elegance and structure that vines of this age have earned. Drink this summer through 2040ish, with prime windows likely 2025-2029 and after 2034.

Note: This product is not available for purchase to South Dakota Customers.

2022 Oltranti Carignane/Zinfandel
Alexander Valley
Sonoma County—California
13.7% ABV
151 cases produced

Oltranti is the gray label partner to the Mazzoni Home Ranch Zinfandel you received in your last shipment. To remind you, Mazzoni Home Ranch, now owned by the Oltranti family, has been under vine since 1900. Many of those original vines make up the oldest block on the ranch, which is what we made into Mazzoni Home. On the day of the pick I was offered Carignane from another “young” block (owners are not sure if it was replanted in the 50s or 70s) next to the old stuff. I said yes, obviously. 

2021 Dolcetto
Paradise Canyon  Farm
North Coast—California
14.7% Alcohol by Volume
 

2022 Hone #3.3 "Hooky"
Paradise Canyon Farm
Mendocino, North Coast
12.9% Alcohol by Volume
 

When we first launched the Hone series we told you and everybody whow would listen that Hone was about experiments and new projects that we used to push ourselvesbeyond our knowledge and skill set. We also told you that Hone wines wouldn't be repeated, because we ideally just got comfotable outside our comfort zone.

What we probably should've anticipated is that we'd stumble on something exciting and want to do it again. And, then we'd want to use athe same label that everybody loved. So whoops.

That said, we haven't been static in our execution of carbonic fermentation. We're still pretty new at irt, and we're learning more about it and how to maximize itgs benefit and further its integration into our wines. So, this third bottling still represents a marked evolution in our execution. We're very much is the most "complete" version yet. It's not as distinctly carbonic-y as the first, but it ismore integrated and connected through the mid-palate.

Notes from our first vintage of Hooky:
Hooky was our first attempt at making wine similar to a French Beaujolais Nouveau, but with a Meeker twist of course! We used an Italian grape varietal, Dolcetto (which is certainly not French!) and put the grapes through a full carbonic maceration to prevent an otherwise tannic red grape from becoming a big, tannic red wine. The result is a light bodied red wine, with plenty of bright, juicy fruit and a crisp freshness on the palette. 

Note: This product is not available for purchase to South Dakota Customers.

2021 Hone #4 "Tonnage"
Elk Mountain Vineyard — Upper Lake Valley
47.3% Touriga Nacional
28.8% Tinta Madiera
12.9% Souzão
11.0% Tinta Cao

The most recent Hone series is a decidedly against the grain cofermentation of four Portuguese red grapes that would typically be used to build the backbone of a traditional fortified wine. But this wine is anything but traditional. The nose is welcoming and plush, anchored by soft blueberry and apricot cushioned by soft brown vibrations:  leather, pencil shavings, baking spice and vanilla pudding. The palate shows more racy character: the fruit leans more towards cherry and ripe plum and midpalate through finish pivot around a bracing acidity. The risk of low-alcohol, high-acidity wines is that they feel narrow and "centered up" on your palate because they lack roundness and complexity. This wine is broad, with juicy and a lot of warmth—which is special for a wine like this.

More than anything, this wine is fun. And a lot of that fun character will fade with time. Nonetheless, it will age well for 5-10 years, but if I were you I'd board this party boat soon.

2020 Malbec
Bells Echo Vineyard
Mendocino—California
14.5% ABV

This wine is the first Malbec since the 2012 Kniights Valley bottling. This wine's greatest achievment is an effortless balance of archetypes. The nose and front of the palate on this wine feel like South American, new-school Malbec, while the driven, tannic, deliberate finish feel like Cahors.

Super juicy pomegranate on the nose with blueberry compote and herbal edges of eucalyptus, chamomile, and lavender. The fruit character is high-toned and explosive. The mid-palate rides the juicy fruit character into a fleshy, slightly grippy core of bluebery skin, peach fuzz and noyaux. A center of acidity follows quickly and narrows the palate as it focuses into a soft-spoken close. 

While this wine will age for quite a while, it will evolve dramatically over the first decade. We'll be excited to see where it goes, but for now I'd enjoy the massive fruit character while it is unapologetically precocious.

2019 Cabernet Franc
Dry Creek Valley—Sonoma County
14.9% Alcohol By Volume

This is classic Cabernet Franc:  Light, lean stonefruit like white cherries on the nose under a canopy of sage, jalapeño, violets, and eucalyptus.  Full-bodied and structured through the mid-palate before an elongated finish that will reward aging for up to 20 years.

Note: This product is not available for purchase to South Dakota Customers.

2020 Cabernet Franc
Dry Creek Valley—Sonoma County
14.8% Alcohol By Volume

As many of you know, we have grown very fond of Cabernet Franc and the wines it yields. After a massively successful 8 vintages with the Pedroni Vineyard, that vineyard was torn out (it was, unfortunately, time). So in the 2020 we were on the hunt for a new Cab Franc source in Dry CreekValley...there aren’t a ton. We found one up valley in a good spot across the valley from our original property and we were excited about it, but knew it would yield a different wine than the 40+ year old vines at Pedroni.

2019 Scharf Cabernet Sauvignon
Scharf Family Vineyard
Dry Creek Valley—Sonoma County
14.9% Alcohol By Volume

We’re thrilled to bring you our third release of a Dry Creek Valley Cabernet from the Scharf Family Vineyard. We have worked with the Scharf family for many years. In fact, our first release of a single vineyard wine from Scharf was back in 1995. The vineyard is planted to Cabernet and one row of Malbec, which goes into our Four Kings blend. But this wine is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, with a big, juicy, classic Cab nose of currants and spice, the aromas tempt you until your first sip - which is when you start wondering why you didn’t order a full case. 

This Cab has a velvety mouthfeel, muscular tannins and a long supple finish. Above all, this 2019 is still a young wine. It will drink beautifully on your holiday table or you can stash it in the cellar and let it get better for years. Also, as with every big, amazing Cab - if you drink it, decant it!

2018 Fossil Red Blend
North Coast—Sonoma County
35% Cabernet Sauvignon
33% Syrah
32% Merlot
14.9% Alcohol By Volume

Longtime readers know Fossil gets its name from its historic blend. In the early 1800's, winemakers in a famous wine region on the other side of the pond (the Atlantic that is), added Syrah to a traditional Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot blend. They created a blend that fetched some of the highest prices in the region – until the practice was shelved under newly-enacted winemaking laws. We at Meeker are pleased to dust off this historic winemaking "fossil" for your enjoyment!

The 2018 is amply structured and feels at first like a Merlot-centered Meeker "Four Kings". But there is a gentleness and lushness to the edges of the wine that only Syrah can bring. Patient, elegant white cherry and Cab's herbacious streak open to a warm mid-palate that bridges racy elegance with warmth of just a touch of toffee and toasted oak. The finish shows athe grip of our more classic Bordeaux-grape executions but more gentle. This is a bit tight still, but will drink beautifully now through at least National Donut Day on June 5th, 2037.

2019 Four Kings
Dry Creek Valley—Sonoma County
14.9% Alcohol By Volume

Four Kings is a grand reserve blend of our finest wines from the Dry Creek Valley of Sonoma County. It captures our decades if history and embodies our ethos:  to craft honest wines firmly rooted in tradition and reflective of the people and places that make and grow them. Four Kings is truly royal. Not because it’s fit for a King, but because it is a King, and we’re so happy to share it with everyone. This Bordeaux-inspired blend combines four royal grapes— Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec— to create a muscular, fruity, and memorable wine. It’s got big tannins balanced with a fruit-forward nose. This wine is an elegant beast— powerful, gorgeous, and memorable. 

The wine on balance is firmly connected to the many vintages before it:  white cherry, black berry, bramble, and an unaplogetic, endearingly rustic, broad-shouldered charm. This time, there's just a hint more broad warmth through the mid-palate and sweet vanilla and dulce de leche on the nose. Big acidity and firm structure tell you ti check back in reguarly through 2050 or so.

2018 Four Kings
Dry Creek Valley—Sonoma County
14.9% Alcohol By Volume

Four Kings is a grand reserve blend of our finest wines from the Dry Creek Valley of Sonoma County. It captures our decades if history and embodies our ethos:  to craft honest wines firmly rooted in tradition and reflective of the people and places that make and grow them. Four Kings is truly royal. Not because it’s fit for a King, but because it is a King, and we’re so happy to share it with everyone. This Bordeaux-inspired blend combines four royal grapes— Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec— to create a muscular, fruity, and memorable wine. It’s got big tannins balanced with a fruit-forward nose. This wine is an elegant beast— powerful, gorgeous, and memorable. 

2017 Alexander Valley Merlot
Sonoma County
14.8% Alcohol By Volume

2017 Cabernet Sauvignon

Red Hills AVA
Lake County—California
14.6% Alcohol by Volume

The grapes for this wine are grown on a vineyard in the Red Hills AVA of Lake County.  This vineyard sits at 2100’ elevation on the southern slope of Mount Konocti, the 4300’ volcano at the center of Lake County. The vines are dry farmed and well established in decomposed volcanic dirt that is studded with football-sized, serious-trip-hazard chunks of obsidian poking out of the dirt every other step. Lots of vineyards are in volcanic soils, but few are so thoroughly covered in proof. Between the extreme elevation, dry farming, and nature of land, this fruit is destined to be hyper-concentrated. As for the wine, Meeker has always prioritized intensity and expression of the grape’s structure, followed by lengthy aging to develop that intensity into elegance. This wine is an excellent example of the power and patience working together. This is a massively structured wine that required years to settle into its own potential. 

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