.The Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Napa Meritage 2022 is a $17.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive. The back label says this wine was “vinted and Bottles by” JBA Cellars in Rutherford, California. Vinted and bottled legally means they bottled the wine and possibly did some aging, so JBA Cellars is a company set up to keep us from identifying the producer.
A Meritage wine is a California wine that uses the five approved grapes for Bordeaux (France)wines. Those grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec, and Carmenere, The last two are seldom used..
Wineries license the Meritage name, they pay a fee to call their wines Meritage and that group conducts research in the Bordeaux grapes and vineyard and wine production techniques.
Trader Joe’s does not offer information on which grapes are used, but Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet France figure to be in the mix, but you never know. Napa vineyards are different from Bordeaux vineyards and they could have a non-traditional blend of grapes.
Spending $17.99 on a wine with so little information is a leap of faith. Trader Joe’s does have a good track record with their more expensive Napa wines, but $18 is getting close to retail Napa wines. Trader Joe’s has in the past said the Platinum Reserve series was equivalent to wines selling for twice the price.
As a 2022 vintage released in the last part of 2024, I can guess that this wine had about a year of oak barrel aging with another year of bottle age, or some combination of the two. The alcohol content is 14.5%.
The Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Napa Meritage 2022 Tasting Notes
The color is a raspberry jelly red with black highlights. The nose is blackberry, black pepper, spice, raspberry jam, vanilla, mocha, and plum. The Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Napa Meritage 2022 is medium to full-bodied with smooth rich flavor.
This Red Blend tastes like blackberry, slightly sharp spice, blueberry, licorice, herbs, and soft plum. The mid-palate adds stone fruit, raisin, black cherry, and chocolate.
The tannins are on the sweet side, they provide structure but do not pull or bite. The acidity is balanced and gives this Red blend a decent length.
The Summary
- The Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Napa Meritage 2022 is a good $17.99 wine, I don’t think it is worth twice the price, but it is a good Red blend.
- This a well-made wine that tastes delicious, it is a food wine, but it sips well and does not need food for balance,
- This is another very good Trader Joe’s reserve value.
