Agapi Hollow 2020 Meritage is a Bordeaux style wine. The Cabernet Sauvignon dominant blend is meant to present a “Left-bank” style wine from Virginia.
Bigger, bolder dishes. Grilled meats such as lamb and beef work well with the strong tannins in this wine. Rich, mushroom-based sauces are also a great compliment to its structure.
Light and lean dishes like fish or baked chicken. Anything too spicy or sweet will bring out an imbalance in the wine’s alcohol and bitterness respectively.
Achieved by
Move bottle from room temp to kitchen fridge for:
-or-
Move bottle from fridge to counter (or decanter) for:
This bottle will need some time to open during its youth. The time you should let this wine sit open will be determined by its age.
If opened during:
2022 – 2025: 45 min
2026 – 2028: 30 min
2029 – 2030: 15 min
After 2030: Decant for sediment, but drink immediately.
Large Bordeaux or general-purpose glasses.
Enjoyable now, but will continue to develop until about 2035.
This was a below average vintage for Virginia. Late Spring frosts destroyed a number of vines throughout the state and shortened the growing season.
Rainfall was moderate in the beginning and end of the growing season and held off for the most part during harvest.
There was a substantial drought in June, causing any non-irrigated vines to shut down temporarily.
Wines produced during this vintage will most likely present muted aromatics and unripe fruit on the palate.
Hand-harvested on Sept. 10
24-hour cold soaking
De-stemmed and crushed
100% Stainless steel
Natural yeast
Twice daily punch-downs
18 months in barrique
No fining
No filtering
Bottled on June 3rd, 2022
100 Cases produced
Brix: 23.3
pH: 3.8
TA: 7.6
Alc: 13.7%
RS: 0.02%
Located in the Monticello AVA near Charlottesville, Agapi Hollow is a winery mostly run by cats. The winery currently has about half an acre under vine, with hopes of planting up to 5 acres.
The wines are produced in small quantities with a focus on the expression of local terroir.
The vineyard is maintained as sustainably as possible without the use of harmful sprays.
Agapi hollow remains a small, family run winery and is not open to the public.
Winemaker: Phil Sellery is tight.
Agapi: Rebecca, Phil’s agapi, has been a huge supporter of his ridiculous idea to try to plant a vineyard from the beginning. Constantly coming up with great ideas to improve the winery, Rebecca’s intuition is key to this small producer’s success.
Al: Possibly a 900 year-old sage, Al runs a small business that sells pizzas exclusively.
Impressive given his feline foundation.
London: “Grumps” has been around for some time keeping the grounds safe and making sure her brother and sister don’t get any more treats than she does. 
Syrah: Our southern belle. Balancing her time between grooming and cuddles, her purr can sometimes be heard from the bottom of the driveway.
Pinot Meow: Still with us in spirit, Pinot is enjoying limitless treats and gets to be a part of movie night whenever she likes.
