Winemaker Notes
This expressive Merlot reveals a bouquet of red and dark fruit including plum and cherry interwoven with savory cedar, espresso, rose petals, and a hint of sage. The wine’s concentrated texture is infused with basalt-driven minerality and unveils layers of fruit, dark cocoa, and exotic spices. Fine-grained, dusty tannins provide a finish that invites you to savor every sip and reach for another glass.
Blend: 85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
From the Ferguson Vineyard is L’Ecole’s most esteemed site, perched above the Walla Walla Valley on the Oregon side, positioned well over 1,000 feet of elevation, largely planted in the late 2000s. The aromas are a wonderful blend of savoury herbs and bright berry fruits, blackberries, mint and dried rose petals. The palate is dense, with black tea and mocha notes to the fore; ample black plum and an exotic melange of Moroccan spice, finishing with sweet dark chocolate. So much structure, this wine will benefit from cellaring.
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James Suckling
This firm and polished red has aromas and flavors of coffee beans, black plums, cocoa powder and dried mint. It’s full-bodied and well structured with tight tannins. 85% merlot and 15% cabernet franc. Seven Hills and Ferguson vineyards. Best after 2026.
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.
Responsible for some of Washington’s most highly acclaimed wines, the Walla Walla Valley has experienced a surge in popularity in recent years and is home to both historic wineries and younger, up-and-coming producers.
The Walla Walla Valley, a Native American name meaning “many waters,” is located in southeastern Washington; part of the appellation actually extends into Oregon. Soils here are well-drained, sandy loess over Missoula Flood deposits and fractured basalt.
It is a region perfectly suited to Rhône-inspired Syrahs, distinguished by savory notes of red berry, black olive, smoke and fresh earth. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot create a range of styles from smooth and supple to robust and well-structured. White varieties are rare but some producers blend Sauvignon Blanc with Sémillon, resulting in a rich and round style, and plantings of Viognier, while minimal, are often quite successful.
Of note within Walla Walla, is one new and very peculiar appellation, called the Rocks District of Milton-Freewater. This is the only AVA in the U.S. whose boundaries are totally defined by the soil type. Soils here look a bit like those in the acclaimed Rhône region of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, but are large, ancient, basalt cobblestones. These stones work in the same way as they do in Chateauneuf, absorbing and then radiating the sun's heat up to enhance the ripening of grape clusters. The Rocks District is within the part of Walla Walla that spills over into Oregon and naturally excels in the production of Rhône varieties like Syrah, as well as the Bordeaux varieties.