Review - Myra Cabernet Sauvignon - Wine from the Bijapur area of Karnataka

The Myra Cabernet Sauvignon 

A few days ago a couple of old buddies and I got together at the pub in Woodrose club, this is alongside Brigade Millenium, J P Nagar 7^th Ph. (just in case you really wanted to know)

So, I checked with the waiter what wine they had, the menu promised Hardy’s and Big Banyan but predictably they were both out of stock. Then he showed me a bottle of Myra - Cabernet Sauvignon. This was the first time I had come across this brand. It was a new one and doing very well the waiter informed. Well I said, “bring it on, let’s have a glass of this one”.

Shortly, I got a glass of red wine. I had a sniff and a sip. It seemed a bit off. Another little sip told me it was definitely not in the pink of health.

Approach bar tender.

He promptly smiles and shows me the bottle from which he has poured this one. It is a different one to the one I was shown. This is an open bottle of Myra - Shiraz.

“So, why did you show me one and pour the other”, I ask. 

Just for the record, I have a friendly tone and we are speaking in Kannada. 

He says, “there are two kinds of wine we have, red and white. You asked for red and I poured you a glass of red”

Good enough explanation. “Well, since when is the bottle open?”

“Two days only, we have been told we can keep it for one week. ”

“hmmm, how do you store it ?”

“Just here behind the bar. White wine we store in the fridge, Red is kept outside only”

I then proceed to explain that the wine he served me has gone bad, also point out the labels and show that the two bottles of Red wine are different. He nods politely (I am sure he thinks I am an idiot)

Anyway, he is kind enough to take the glass back and serves me from the fresh bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. In return we take the whole bottle instead of by a glass. It is quite reasonably priced.

So much for the pre-amble.

Now as the photo shows, this wine is from near Bijapur. This area has been in the news the last couple of years having been promoted by the Karnataka government as a favorable area for wine production. Apparently there is a wine park there too.

Back to the wine in question, Myra – Cabernet Sauvignon – produced and bottled by Nisarga Vineyards

They do have a website - http://www.myravineyards.com/home.html#!/

This is a little complex, the brand Myra is based in Bangalore and the people who made this particular wine, Nisarga Vineyards are based near Bijapur and they are a farmer’s cooperative. The bottle claims that it was manufactured and bottled by Nisarga. So, not sure where Myra come in other than to market it.

The website gives us names of three gentlemen, one who started the company and the other two are experts on wine. The notes that go with the particular wines are not much at all. Funnily enough the note against the Cab on the site is exactly the same as the words on the back of the bottle I had in hand. Not much in terms of tasting notes on the site.

None of this is very confidence inspiring in the brand.

Enough about the organization, now let’s talk about the wine.

In terms of sniffing it, there was not much to be said really, smelt like cheap wine :-) . Did not seem to have any subtlety at all. 

The taste was even less to talk about.

Absolutely flat, not a hint of complexity. The tannins were present in all their splendor, you could practically taste the oak cask in which it was probably stored for a short while. Or do they just add something in to the wine to give it a sense of having been in an oak cask. Ideally this one should have spent a couple of years in that cask by which time it would have mellowed and probably some of the oak taste would have receded in to the background allowing the grape taste to come forward. It would have also developed some complexity. No such luck. This was aged with the clear intent of a quick entry in to the market.

Of course, a smarter person would have steered clear of any cabernet sauvignon which is less than a 2-3 years old. It is general wisdom to wait for the wine to mature and acquire some complexity of taste. In this case, the wine did not have the opportunity to age enough at all. 

The wine was flat and too full of tannins for my liking, we did go through the bottle, but that's only because we are value-conscious. :-)

In summary, for the present I would steer well clear of the Myra Red wines.

On a side note, if you are in the Woodrose, just buy a bottle of wine, it is very reasonably priced and better than having a glass from a bottle opened two days ago. While there, you should also go for the egg pakodas there, recommended. Would have gone well with a good wine I am sure.