New oak dominates this wine, with a rich eruption of toasted meringue, vanilla, burnt butter sauce and woodspice aromas and flavors, yet beneath that elaborate veneer is a wine that easily supports it. The fruit is fantastically concentrated, suggesting cherries and black raspberries baked into a pie—pie crust, and dusting of cinnamon sugar and cocoa included. For all that, the wine is thoroughly dry. Whoever says Merlot is dead should taste this beauty.