This merlot-based red is really exciting with dark berries, dark chocolate and bark. Full-bodied, dense and layered. So serious and exciting. Merlot is great here. Drink in 2020.

This blends 71% Merlot with 21% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Petit Verdot. Earthy, it evokes wild truffle and fresh compost, with highlighted flavors of dark plum and cherry. Its soft silky texture is inviting and a complement to the gritty backbone of tannins, which though in check, are plenty powerful.

The Merlot-dominated cuvee of the estate is the 2015 Firebelle and it checks in as 71% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Petit Verdot that spent 18 months in 65% new French oak. It offers a terrific bouquet of black cherries, leafy herbs, lavender, and dried violets, medium to full body, loads of minerality, and a fresh, focused, beautifully balanced style.