Lot 15
2018 Napa Valley Merlot (Oakville/Oak Knoll)

Deeply colored and beautifully aromatic with blue and black fruit layered against a background of loamy olive and toasty French oak. Again, its seamless and supple across the palate with brown sugar, clove, blackberry and more toasty french oak haloed with Anaheim chile spice. The finish is long and layered. Drink now and over the next decade.

Check-in tasting 6.23.21 - Even as a barrel sample, this wine took a few days to open up and it is finally opening up in the bottle. No surprise that it is doing so now but the evolution is still surprising from a couple months ago. Beautiful, pure, singing cherry fruit mixes with sweet florals and graphite. A true elevage of character coalescing beautifully with pomegranate, refined savory notes of humidor and aged spruce. Fleshy yet composed, extracted with restraint. Still nicely wound on the palate with pretty acidity lifting elegant red fruits. Fantastic, very classy wine from a legendary producer