The Renard Rouge is a Meritage Blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot that won the 2011 Virginia Governor’s Cup.
The nose on this one had a nice spice, a little twig, and some muted fruit. I also got a little something that reminded me of caramel (odd, to be sure, but that’s what I got). There were also some very nice floral notes on the nose.
On the palate, the Renard Rouge showed some great spice and oak. Initially, I got some tart berry along with some nice floral tones. Moving across the palate, the wine developed some nice strawberry notes. As the wine opened up a bit (I probably should have decanted this one for a while), the spice came across with a bit of cinnamon and the fruit began to present itself as plum. This wine had some soft, silky-smooth tannins on it. Overall, I found the Renard Rouge to be a very good, complex, well-made wine.
As I said, I should have decanted the Renard Rouge before pouring. This wine definitely got better as it opened up and seemed to hit a sweet spot four to five hours in. I have another couple of bottles in the cellar that I will: 1) Wait a while to open; and/or 2) Decant for a couple of hours before pouring. This is a well-made, well-integrated wine; however, the Renard Rouge wasn’t my cup of tea (“of course not,” you say, “it was a glass of wine”). I liked this wine and look forward to tasting it again in the future, but I didn’t love it. Objectively, this is a great wine and is more than worth a try for the $30 you’ll spend on the bottle. It did win the Virginia Governor’s Cup, and it is (I really want to emphasize this point) objectively a very good wine.
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