2015 L'Ecole No. 41 Walla Walla Valley Merlot

Happy Tuesday!  It's been a busy week so far, and I have to admit I'm still sore from all the yard work I did last weekend.  I had the brilliant idea of buying a new Stihl hedge trimmer on Saturday and spent all Sunday afternoon trimming all of my hedges around the yard!  So now that things are getting back to normal and I'm once again able to smoothly lift a wine glass to my mouth, why not open a bottle of Merlot to get back on track with Sean Sullivan's Washington Merlot Challenge (I'm sure I drank a Washington Merlot last month, but I never blogged about it!).  Tonight's wine is the 2015 L'Ecole No. 41 Walla Walla Merlot, a blend of Merlot (80%), Cabernet Sauvignon (10%) and Cabernet Franc (10%) blended in equal parts from two vineyards, the Ferguson Vineyard and the Seven Hill Vineyard.  So let's see how this wine is tasting!

The wine is a deep ruby in the glass, as you might expect.  The nose presents aromas of black cherry, blackberry and currant intermingled with earthy aromas of leather and basalt.  The taste is a very old world style of Merlot, with a rush of ripe black fruit up front, black cherry and blackberry that eases into some notes of dark chocolate and espresso midpalate, with just a hint of black pepper spice on the finish.  The tannins are robust and well integrated for a long, smooth and satisfyingly dry finish that lingers on the palate.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 9, as it's perhaps my favorite Merlot so far this year.  This wine would pair well with a variety of meat dishes, from lamb chops to venison, steak to bison filet.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with a rare grilled porterhouse with grilled asparagus and garlic scapes and a big baked potato.  Cheers!