The 1994 Merlot offers an extremely dark color and a magnificently expressive nose of jammy blackberries and cassis soaked in a myriad of oak spices. This powerful, full-bodied, concentrated, and intensely thick wine is crammed with candied red and black cherries, Asian spices, chocolate, and vanilla cream. A testimony to his considerable winemaking skills, this massive wine is not ponderous. Anticipated maturity: now-2004. I love drinking Leonetti's wines, especially when they are young. Figgins' offerings consistently qualify as some of the world's best drinking reds. They are candied oak bombs that satisfy my cravings for uninhibited pleasure. However, having tasted through a number of older releases, I do not believe these wines can be considered ageworthy. With time the explosive sultriness of the fruit and copious oak spices lose their exuberant youthful qualities. The wines, while still extremely pleasurable to drink, do taste more subtle, but this restraint makes them less interesting and fun. For example, when young the 1989 Cabernet Sauvignon Seven Hills Reserve was the sexiest, sultriest, and most hedonistically pleasurable Cabernet I had ever put to my lips. My score at the time was in the upper-90s, today, after time has tamed the wine, I rate it a 90 - still outstanding and pleasurable, but no longer mind-boggling. This is not a knock at Leonetti's wines. I believe the most important factor is how much pleasure a wine gives, not how long it gives it. Figgins wines tend to be superb the day they are purchased, so why defer your gratification? Tel. (509) 525-1428.