Figgins Family Wine Estates Leonetti Cellar Merlot 2023 750ml

Lovely brightness of fruit here, with dark plums, cherries, raspberries and chocolate orange. Some tobacco leaves, too. Roasted espresso notes come through. Full-bodied with creamy, broad tannins. Excellent concentration and depth. Drink from 2025. (James Suckling)

A dark and alluring bouquet of steeped plums and crushed blueberries emerges from the 2021 Merlot, lifted by hints of mint and sweet spice. Seamlessly silky and elegant yet cooling and fresh, this leads with its mineral component as polished wild berry fruits slowly settle upon the senses. A wall of tannin amasses through the finish, clenching the palate with youthful poise. The 2021 finishes long and hauntingly dark, with a bitter blackberry tinge. Bury this deep in the cellar. (Eric Guido)

The 2023 Merlot is a spice box on the nose, mixing cloves, incense, dried flowers and hints of menthol. It presents a balanced inner sweetness and soothingly round textures as crisp blue fruits cascade across the palate. A collection of edgy tannins is offset by a bump of residual acidity, finishing long and full of youthful tension. Have patience with the 2023.

This full-bodied red has aromas and flavors of blueberries, dark chocolate, cedar and dried herbs. It’s both firm and plush with broad, chalky tannins encasing the dark fruit. Try after 2026

Precise and focused like a laser, this red serves up deeply layered black currant, espresso and savory allspice flavors that build tension toward medium-grained tannins. Drink now through 2032. 1,439 cases made. (Tim Fish)

Winemaker Chris Figgins has slowly transitioned to getting Merlot for the 2023 Merlot from cooler sites and giving them a shorter aging window of 15 months. The resulting wine possesses great elegance through a full-bodied frame of rich blue fruit, dried herb, and floral aromatics. The oak is well-integrated, and the tannins supple and supportive. This will continue to drink well over 10-12 more years.

Tight with tension, this red offers black currant, pencil lead and bay leaf flavors that build structure and tannins on the finish. Best from 2026 through 2033. 1,922 cases made.

Always bottled early, the 2020 Merlot is all varietal from a mix of sites in the Walla Walla Valley. It has a juicy, medium to full-bodied, chewy style on the palate as well as good purity in its ripe red and blue fruits, notes of tobacco, scorched earth, and graphite-like aromatics. It has some grippy, chalk tannins, and while rock-solid today, it’s not a wine to hide away in the cellar. (Jeb Dunnuck)