Soft and ripe, with fruit flavors that border on raisin and prune, this nicely bottle-aged Merlot is good to go right now. In fact, it could pass for an older wine, or perhaps a nonvintage blend; it’s smooth and mature, with good balance and very soft tannins.——P.G.(5/1/2011)—— 86

Although this is Ste. Michelle’s widely available Merlot offering, it breaks the mold by being held back a considerable time prior to release. It’s an unusual wine, with scents of overripe, raisined fruit, a streak of tobacco and black licorice, a soft midpalate, and some bitterness in the finishing tannins.——P.G.(9/1/2010)—— 84