Stags' Leap Winery Napa Valley Merlot 2021

This Merlot is fresh and pure, offering a captivating bouquet of dark cherry, red berries, and perfumed rose petals intertwined with subtle baking spiced notes of cedar and clove from the well-integrated oak. On the palate, rustic yet refined tannins provide a medium body and crunchy mouth-pleasing texture, with layered flavors of black cherry, red raspberry, tobacco leaf, and rooibos tea amid a backdrop of juicy, mouthwatering acidity and a hint of tartness reminiscent of cherries jubilee. The long and savory finish has hints of sagebrush, bittersweet dark chocolate, and earthy minerality, demonstrating a harmonious balance of tension and grace-a truly beautiful and complex expression of Napa Valley Merlot.