Originating in Ciel du Cheval, Klipsun, and Weinbau vineyards (the sites chosen for this generic vary with vintage), Januik’s 2009 Merlot features fresh, juicy, cherry with a smoky overlay and a bitter herbal edge. While not terribly complex, it’s infectious and satisfyingly long. Ste. Michelle veteran Mike Januik founded and runs the winery that bears his name in parallel with Novelty Hill (covered separately in this report), and the same recent vintage, high-tech production facility is employed with essentially the same aesthetic goals for wines of each label. The affable and insightful Januik has been in a position to cultivate close relationships with many if not most of Washington’s top grape growers, so it’s no surprise that his roster of suppliers is impressive, resulting in relatively consistently high quality. (Among the current collection, only a “Red Wine” comprising whatever barrels of Bordelais varietals are left after the blending of single-vineyard bottlings – and thus still emanating from a who’s who sites – disappointed.) Fermentative extraction for reds here is almost entirely via pump-over and of only 6-8 days duration, as Januik warms his musts in order to get alcoholic extraction to begin early and is at pains to moderate tannins. Reds typically go to barrel (generally half new) before reaching complete dryness; though rather than there being any rule, Januik opines, “after handling 700 red wine fermentations a year” for a decade at Ste. Michelle, “you get a certain feel and it’s not hard to tell when a wine is ready to press-off.” Januik commutes from Woodinville to visit nearly all of his vineyard sources on a weekly basis during the growing season in order to check on “his” blocks of vines. Tel. (425) 481-5502