Cotarella is a master with Merlot (much like France's Michel Rolland), and the 2000 Merlot (aged 12 months in French oak) exhibits complex aromas of sausage meat intermixed with mocha, coffee, underbrush, black cherries, and black currants. Sweet, full-bodied, ripe, sexy, and seductive, this lush, opulent 2000 should be drunk over the next 5-8 years. This estate, owned by Stefano Grilli, has consistently performed at high standards over the last five years, largely because the winemaker is Riccardo Cotarella.A Leonardo Locascio Selection, Winebow, Hohokus, NJ; tel. (201) 445-0620