Merlot Thursday became Merlot Splurge Day when I was offered a wine from one of Washington State’s finest producers: The elegant and evolving Leonetti Cellar Merlot.
Founded in 1977, Leonetti Cellar is Walla Walla Valley’s first winery. Its roughly 5,000 cases per year are distributed mostly through member allocation. And so, it was with great excitement that the Merlot lovers in the bar gathered around the vat-sized wineglass to have a sniff of the current vintage.
Dark purple with magenta highlights. Firm blackberry, blueberry, and acai berry on the nose with a faint whiff of dark chocolate. The fruit starts out restrained and tart, but quickly opens into lusciousness.
The texture is full, soft, and round with a cherry-skin grippiness that builds as you continue to sip on it. Cedar, chicory, and vermouth (macerated herbs + alcohol) add some savory complexity to the dominant flavors of blue-ish fruit.
Swirling releasing smooth floral hints of vanilla-almond, crushed violet and rose oil. Alcohol strength (14.4%) carries these delicate aromas all the way to the rim of the glass, protecting the wine from tasting overripe or over-proof as some lesser Washington Merlots can. It’s simply the best kind of Merlot: Fruit-driven, but also layered and intriguing.
The winemaker suggests–no, practically insists–that this Merlot be decanted “for at least a couple of hours.” I couldn’t wait that long…but I wholly agree. The wine softens and evolves remarkably over an hour in the glass, integrating its quite-high alcohol and sprouting a whole garden of herbs and flowers to garnish its fresh berries.
A hater might say that we drank this too early, and they’d have a point. Still, it’s a gorgeous wine in its youth and I have zero doubts it’ll be gorgeous in its middle age, too.
Quibbles? Sure. I wanted the finish to be just a little longer given the intensity of the fruit flavors. But that will probably come with time. (Already it’s showing some light cedar and tobacco notes that are really alluring.) And it really does need that decant. So, my two cents: Wait a few years on the 2023 if you’re a very patient person–and an hour or two after pouring even if you are not.
Today’s #MerlotThursday wine was tasted at The Wine Authority and is 100% Merlot. The grapes are sourced from three of the Figgins Family estate vineyards: Loess, Mill Creek Upland, and Leonetti Old Block Vineyards. Aged 15 months in new and once-filled French oak barrels and neutral oval botti.
Bottle: Leonetti Cellar Walla Walla Valley Merlot (2023) – Washington, United States
Variety: Merlot (100%)
ABV: 14.4%
Suggested retail: $123
My rating: 9.3
Every Thursday, I post notes and stories about a different Merlot (or Merlot-based) wine. Pour yourself a glass and join in! Or, see my past #MerlotThursday reviews here.
Review disclosure: I was not compensated or provided any free products for this review. Opinions expressed on The Wine Fairy blog are entirely my own.
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