Leonetti Merlot 2014
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A soft, sexy and luxuriously textured red, the 2014 Walla Walla Merlot (there’s 6% Cabernet Franc in the blend) is loaded with perfectly ripe notes of black currants, lead pencil shavings, charred earth and chocolate. Full-bodied and possessing a wealth of fruit, you have to hunt for the tannin, but they’re there; still, fruit and texture are the name of the game here. The baby fat should slowly melt away and it should have 15 years or more of longevity.
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Wine Enthusiast
Aromatically, this wine is currently subdued, with the notes of raspberry, cocoa and cherry that haven't fully blossomed. The flavors meanwhile are generous and ripe, while still showing a fine sense of balance. Additional time in the bottle or a long decant should allow it to open up.
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Wine Spectator
Dense, with cherry and herbal overtones in a package wrapped in firm, fine, peppery tannins, swerving into a long and expressive finish. Needs time to soften the edges. Best from 2018 through 2023. 1,848 cases made.
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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.