2018 Merlot

Varietals:               100% Merlot
Appellation:           Walla Walla Valley
Vineyard:               Seven Hills West Estate Vineyard
Winemaker:           Dave Stephenson
Alcohol:                 14.7%
Date bottled:         May 2020
Price:                      $42
Production:           380 cases

You know those chocolate covered açai berries you get at Costco? Yeah, those delicious little bright fruity, berry filled bites of smooth chocolate that you can’t stop eating? THAT is what this wine smells like. Along with a splash of cherry cola. Once your nose gobbles up all the red fruits and chocolate, out comes a layer of espresso, wet graphite, bay leaves, spicy brown mustard and roasting chilis. There is just a ton going on here before you even take a sip.

But let’s take a sip. The initial mouthfeel is cloudlike (actually what I wrote down while tasting) and then develops into melted chocolate. Repeating the theme from above, the first flavors are mixed berry & cocoa, then you get a hit of lemon zest and apple before it returns to the dark side. Blackberry, currant, anise, and plum.

While this wine could rock many a pairing, I’d start with portobello mushroom ravioli with burnt butter and fried sage. I think I might be ready for Fall…