5 reds to consider if you want to splurge

The decision to drink relatively expensive wines is similar to eating steak: Once you have had a tender prime steak, hamburger is never quite the same.

It doesn't mean we give up hamburgers, for most of us can't afford steak on a regular basis. However, when we want something special, we go after that special steak. The same is true for wines. There are wines you drink with everyday meals and then there are special wines.

I usually resist answering questions about what my favorite wines are, but when price is no object -- when I get to pick that special wine -- I opt for a Bordeaux blend.

Traditionally, these are wines made from two or more of these five grapes in a designate area of southwestern France: cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc, petit verdot and malbec. In this country, a red Meritage is a made-up word indicating, usually, a blend of at least two or more of those five Bordeaux varieties. No single variety can make up more than 90 percent of the blend.

Meritage (it rhymes with "heritage") is an American effort to label and market Bordeaux-style blends, and I like them. I figure that you might, too, when you want that elegant, sophisticated wine for that special evening.

I asked the wine-tasting group to compare five Meritage wines from this country. Each of the five we sampled in a blind tasting got at least one first-place vote among the eight panel members.

Here is what we found:

- 2001 Hendry Red at $34.99. This wine was a blend of the traditional five Bordeaux grapes, producing an inky, dark wine. The aroma was rich, with black fruit, leather, cedar and cocoa. In the mouth, it had a medium to full complexity with a big and bold body. The Hendry had a medium-long finish and a promise to be age-worthy for a number of years. It tied for first in a close vote.

- 1999 Estancia Meritage at $32.99. This wine had a dark color and an aroma that showed jammy fruit, plum and more red fruit than the Hendry. Made of 76 percent cabernet sauvignon and 24 percent merlot, it had a medium body and medium complexity. The finish was long and nice. This friendly wine tied for first in our tasting.

- 1998 LoLonis Petros Meritage at $45.99. If you want to drink without food tonight, this wine might qualify because of its lightness and "approachability." It had a lighter color than the others and a comparatively muted aroma with hints of strawberry. The texture was soft and the finish comfortable. Drink this one relatively soon.

- 1999 Dry Creek Valley Meritage at $29.99. Made from 54 percent merlot and 38 percent cabernet sauvignon plus some petit verdot, this wine had a dense aroma of stewed fruit, cedar and eucalyptus. In the mouth, it was soft, elegant and velvety. The finish was long. This was a wine that you could drink tonight or age for a few years.

- 2000 L'Aventure Optimus at $40. This wine was not made from all traditional Bordeaux grapes; it was 50 percent cabernet sauvignon, 40 percent syrah, 5 percent petit verdot and 5 percent zinfandel. And it was nice. It had a dark crimson color and an aroma of traditional cabernet fruits, including cassis. It was perhaps the most complex wine in the tasting and needed aging more than the others, but we felt it would be worth the wait.

Surfing the wine shelves

- 2000 St. Francis Old Vines Zinfandel at $22. This wine costs more than the hamburgers or pizza it would be best with, but it should be worth it. It had plenty of black fruit, pepper and oak to be a good companion with hearty foods.

- 2002 Coldstream Hills Sauvignon Blanc at $17.50. This Australian wine had a nose of passion fruit and ripe tropical fruit. Its crisp, clean tartness at the end would make it ideal for Asian foods and chicken.

Questions can be sent to Frank Sutherland, editor, The Tennessean, 1100 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203 or e-mailed to editor