Winemaker Notes
Exhibiting lively aromas of plum and black cherry, accented by tobacco leaf, crushed roses, cedar nuances, this Merlot presents an enchanting old-world character, full-bodied and vigorous, bursting with flavors of macerated berries, coffee, and kirsch. Charming and inviting, it finishes with balance and a satisfying longevity.
Blend: 82% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, 2% Malbec, 1% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Aromas of dark and blue berries with toasted cloves, nut shells and dark chocolate. Medium- to full-bodied with an array of velvety tannins wrapping up the juicy core of ripe berries. Polished and lingering.
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Wine Enthusiast
Merlot joins forces with 15% Cabernet Franc, 2% Malbec and 1% Petit Verdot to put on a dazzling aromatic show of dark raspberry, citrus, wet slate and crunchy dry leaves. With silky tannins and flavors like blackberry, black tea and orange peel, this medium-bodied wine is a smooth sipper.
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Wine Spectator
A full-bodied Merlot, intense in structure yet retains a sense of finesse, with black and red currant, savory herb and licorice flavors that finish with tannic snap.
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Decanter
A melange of Merlot from six Washington vineyards with strong pedigrees for the variety. Aromas of blue fruits and crushed black slate are marked with a note of smoked cedar plank. The palate is lushly fruited with ample blueberries, cassis and dusty black cherries. There are savoury notes of sagebrush and bay leaf and a stony mineral finish.
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Wine & Spirits
Dry and a touch tannic, this wine has a dark plum scent with a hit of smoke, almost as if the fruit were halved and grilled. It’s dusty and charry but has plenty of acidity to drive through the intense tannic payload.
With generous fruit and supple tannins, Merlot is made in a range of styles from everyday-drinking to world-renowned and age-worthy. Merlot is the dominant variety in the wines from Bordeaux’s Right Bank regions of St. Emilion and Pomerol, where it is often blended with Cabernet Franc to spectacular result. Merlot also frequently shines on its own, particularly in California’s Napa Valley. Somm Secret—As much as Miles derided the variety in the 2004 film, Sideways, his prized 1961 Château Cheval Blanc is actually a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
A large and geographically diverse AVA capable of producing a wide variety of wine styles, the Columbia Valley AVA is home to 99% of Washington state’s total vineyard area. A small section of the AVA even extends into northern Oregon!
Because of its size, it is necessarily divided into several distinctive sub-AVAs, including Walla Walla Valley and Yakima Valley—which are both further split into smaller, noteworthy appellations. A region this size will of course have varied microclimates, but on the whole it experiences extreme winters and long, hot, dry summers. Frost is a common risk during winter and spring. The towering Cascade mountain range creates a rain shadow, keeping the valley relatively rain-free throughout the entire year, necessitating irrigation from the Columbia River. The lack of humidity combined with sandy soils allows for vines to be grown on their own rootstock, as phylloxera is not a serious concern.
Red wines make up the majority of production in the Columbia Valley. Cabernet Sauvignon is the dominant variety here, where it produces wines with a pleasant balance of dark fruit and herbs. Wines made from Merlot are typically supple, with sweet red fruit and sometimes a hint of chocolate or mint. Syrah tends to be savory and Old-World-leaning, with a wide range of possible fruit flavors and plenty of spice. The most planted white varieties are Chardonnay and Riesling. These range in style from citrus and green apple dominant in cooler sites, to riper, fleshier wines with stone fruit flavors coming from the warmer vineyards.