Baked black plum, basil leaf, muddled dark cherry. Holiday fruit cake, broken-in leather, homemade cranberry sauce. A wonderfully ripe yet still tart and energetic parade of black currant preserves, blackberry compote, and bruised strawberry marches with excellent richness and concentration as hints of mulling spices, coffee grounds, and extra-dark chocolate further enhance the balanced opulence. Wafts of crushed violet, dried lavender, and iris emerge in a wave of purple floral tones that are additionally complicated by intriguing herbal notes of aged cedar, mint, rolling tobacco, and dill. Underlying suggestions of graphite, iron, and gravelly soil impart well integrated streaks of earthiness while impressions of campfire, toasted coconut, and smoke gradually project a range of interesting roasted qualities. Beautifully rich, muscular, and textured on the palate while still remaining surprisingly lively and buoyant; exhibiting nice energy and tension coursing through a dramatically powerful and grippy attack. Full in body with pronounced pixelated tannin carried by slightly elevated acidity. This 2017 Knights Valley Merlot by Moran Manor is a terrifically bold and enjoyable red from Sonoma County.

Though the popularity of Merlot has gone through a series of ebbs and flows in the last few decades, this legendary Bordelais grape is once again gaining in notoriety across California for the rich and texturally complex wines it produces. This bottling, crafted by Moran Manor using Merlot sourced from their Knights Valley estate vineyard, wonderfully captures the intriguing mix of depth and balance that high quality California Merlot can achieve. Made in a ripe and forward style reflective of the late summer heat of the 2017 vintage, this wine is packed with slightly jammy and stewed black and red fruits enhanced by dried floral tones, deep herbal complexity, holiday spices, and an unmistakable yet thoroughly pleasant toasted smoky quality. While definitely on the bigger side this wine manages to hold onto nice tartness, tension, and balance, and can either be enjoyed now or cellared for 3-5 more years. Very nice.