Tamarack Cellars Merlot 2016, Columbia Valley, Washington

Tamarack Cellars is located in a restored World War II Fire Station and Barracks in Walla Walla, Washington. Tamarack produces small lots of hand-crafted wines from select vineyards in the Walla Walla Valley, Red Mountain, Rattlesnake Hills, Wahluke Slope, Horse Heaven Hills, Columbia Valley and Yakima Valley appellations. 2016 vintage – 90% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, 2% Cabernet Sauvignon. Grapes were crushed gently and dropped by gravity into 1.5 ton bins, cold soaked 48 hours minimum, then inoculated with a variety of yeasts, hand-punched and pressed directly to barrel where the wine finishes both primary and secondary fermentations. The individual lots of wine that comprise the Merlot are kept separate for at least 12 months before they are blended. The wine was on oak (primarily American, with some French and Hungarian (50% new) for 19 months. This Merlot shows notes of baked almond and coconut on the nose followed by savory capers and fennel. The palate is bold and complex, offering smokey notes of prosciutto and kalamata tapenade.