Charles & Charles Merlot 2016

Blended with 14% Cabernet Sauvignon, this enjoyable wine brings raspberry and red currant aromas that feel pure, with no obvious new oak influence. The flavors are sleek and juicy.

Aromas explode with black cherry, dark chocolate and boysenberry, and then follows up with notes of vanilla, crushed gravel, wet earth and tar. The wine is both forceful and elegant, and finishes long and lush. To keep this rich yet energetic wine intact we decided to bottle it unfined and unfiltered; this has its risks and, at times, means some sediment at the bottom of your glass, but the positive qualities make it worth it. Many of the best small production wines in the world are bottled without fining or filtration.