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Januik Winery 2018 Merlot, Red Mountain $35.00

By on April 12, 2022

Mike Januik’s standing in the Washington wine industry allows him to cherry-pick among the state’s premier plantings. Here, fruit from historic Ciel du Cheval, managed for the Holmes family by Kade Casciato, joins berries from two vineyards in the vast portfolio of Washington Wine Hall of Fame inductee Dick Shaw — Obelisco and Quintessence. And this bottling’s provenance helps explain the sense of majesty to a structure that’s brimming with black cherry, plum and cassis. The use of only French oak barrels, half of them new, helps frame the tannins and add a sense of chocolate that doesn’t cloak the delicate secondary notes of rose petal and earthiness.

Rating: Gold medal – 92 points

Production: 632 cases

Alcohol: 14.4%

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About Great Northwest Wine

Articles credited to Great Northwest Wine are authored by Eric Degerman and other contributors. In most cases, these are wine reviews that are judged blind by the Great Northwest Wine tasting panel.

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