2014 Melka Estates & Winery Mekerra Proprietary Red Knights Valley 750 ml

Can You Handle The Beast?

If you want to understand what it means when someone calls a wine “explosive,” drink Philippe Melka’s Mekerra. Affectionately nicknamed “The Beast” by the A-list French expat winemaker, an alum of Haut-Brion and Petrus, this cuvée’s bold violet, black cherry, blackberry, and licorice aromas positively leap out of the glass, pull you in, and don’t let go.

The 2014 is pure power, sheathed in fine-grained tannins and full, voluptuous texture. Melka’s version of a Right Bank Bordeaux masterpiece, the Mekerra gives the Saint-Émilion Premiere Grand Cru a New World run for its money, endowing all that Cabernet Franc freshness with gorgeous richness. 97 points from Jeb Dunnuck and Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate called this wine “Cheval Blanc-like.” When you need to pull a blockbuster out of the cellar, this is it.

A prophet of Cabernet Franc, Melka was among the first to show the heights the Right Bank variety could attain under the right conditions. He pushes the grape’s purity and length into the stratosphere, with Merlot lending aromatic delicacy and spice.

Philippe Melka is an easygoing, soft-spoken Frenchman with perfect manners and the reddened features of someone who spends a lot of time outdoors. And yet from this neat aristocrat of the vineyard comes titanic wines that seem to have been crafted by giants, with Van Halen-like volume and concentration and complexity that go on forever. “Muscular,” “explosive,” and “tremendous” are the sorts of words that dot the critics’ rave reviews, which alone could easily fill this page. A consultant for some of California’s most celebrated houses, with bottles on the list at Per Se and French Laundry, he’s a winemaker at the top of his game. From the label of his Melka Estate bottles, he stares out with a steely gaze that hints at the discipline required to tame these brawny beauties.

On each cuvée, his eyes are a different color. They are blue in the Mekerra, a reference to the Algerian river that the wine takes its name from, which runs by the hometown of Melka’s father. Melka has built his reputation on terroir, and he spent years searching for this site. It’s a steep, high-altitude mountain plot sitting at 2,500 feet in elevation and comprising ten acres. Preparing and cultivating the rough land took plenty of work: bought in 2001, the first vintage wasn’t released till 2007. But the labor paid off in what’s come to be one of Melka’s standout achievements. Varying inclines and degrees of sun exposure create microclimates giving the wine depth and density. The Cabernet Franc is planted in volcanic ash, while the Merlot sends its roots deep into clay loam.

Melka describes this wine as having an animalistic energy, girded by firm structure and powerful tannins. He was a prophet of Cabernet Franc in the region, among the first to show the heights the Right Bank grape could attain under the right conditions. He pushes the grape’s purity and length into the stratosphere here, with the Merlot lending aromatic delicacy and spice. This big wine is just starting to show its beguiling softness and will continue to age beautifully for another 20 years.