Baron Philippe de Rothschild Merlot 2001

A fine, deep red color with a violet tint, the wine is full of fruit on the nose: red berry fruit, cherry and blackcurrant, with a hint of liquorice. With airing, the already rich bouquet develops more complex notes of tobacco and menthol. Round and crisp in the mouth, it combines a well-rounded tannic structure with flavors of red fruit and denser, fresh stone fruit like nectarine and vine peach. The expressive, lingering finish displays fine balance on the palate, allowing all the refinement and roundness of Merlot to develop in a rich array of flavors.

This pays d'oc wine comes from the region of Limoux, near Carcassonne, one of the oldest vineyards of Languedoc-Roussillon. The area is a mosaic of very different soils – shale, granite, limestone, sandstone – in stony terraces or gravelly ridges of red clay.