The 2011 Merlot Vintner’s Select is 100% Merlot aged 20 months in 40% new French oak. A smaller cuvée of 418 cases, it reveals plenty of chocolaty, dense black cherry and plum-like fruit intermixed with hints of Asian spice, earth and tobacco leaf. This plump, chewy, sensual 2011 is best drunk over the next 7-8 years.