2013 Leonetti Walla Walla Valley Merlot

(aged for 15 months in new and once-use French oak; from Loess and Mill Creek Upland plus Leonetti Old Block): Healthy dark red with ruby highlights. Aromas of black and blue fruits are lifted by a violet scent and an exotic suggestion of white fruits. Silky-sweet and already attractive, but bracing acidity and a savory quality gives this superb Merlot the grip to blossom in bottle. Its dark fruit flavors are complicated by hints of tobacco leaf and game. Structured and firm for Walla Walla Merlot. This wine is normally an early drinker, says ??, but this 2013 has a firm tannic spine and bright acidity and is a bit less creamy in the early going. Interestingly, this wine came across as tight and tannic following the 2012 Sangiovese. (ST)