Just recently I added the J-T 2002 Meritage onto my Lost and Found blog – I have to admit, I was not surprised that the 02 had aged very well and would continue to do so. Well, I am happy to report that I’ll be doing a Taste it Again Grape Guy in a few years on the ’05, because this one is stuffed with the signs of ageability. We start off on the nose with the dark underbelly of this wine showing through: black cherry, blackberries, cassis, dark chocolate and some cedar-like wood influence. The mouth is tight, very tight (there’s just gotta be a joke I can make about the prom queen here, but I’ll refrain) – suffice it to say it’s currently dark and woody with lots of tannins and that cedar from the nose materializes in the finish. I would recommend ageing it 3 years before drinking, and I’ll go out on a short limb here when I tell you that it will hold for 10 years easily. Daring to drink it now would mean opening 3 hours in advance, decanting or both. Curious fact, according to those I talked with, the 51% Merlot that went into this wine is the highest percentage of Merlot ever in the Grand Reserve blend – the rest is 35% Cab Sauv and 14% Cab Franc.