The 2004 Merlot also contains 14% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Petit Verdot. Dark ruby/purple, it exhibits floral (violet) and lavender notes as well as cassis and black currants. This is followed by a plush wine with excellent depth, concentration, and sweet fruit. Drink this balanced, lengthy wine over the next 10-12 years. Northstar is a Walla Walla Merlot specialist founded in the early 1990s under the Stimson Lane umbrella with Jed Steele as consulting winemaker. The winery now has estate vineyards which have not yet come on-line. Tel. (866) 486-7828; www.northstarmerlot.com

In the blend of this intensely fragrant young wine is 14% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Petit Verdot. I like the complexity, the way the primary fruits mix in unusual notes of pineapple along with the black cherry. It’s resonant and tangy, with good, long flavors and lots of new oak. This was a year of winemaker transition, and may be the last of the real chocolaty wines from Northstar. Give this plenty of airing, or cellar it for another 3–4 years.——P.G.(12/1/2007)—— 92