The 2004 Redigaffi plays its best cards in terms of structure and mouthfeel. This vintage is remembered as very favorable to farmers because temperatures never pulled in any one extreme direction. Instead, a slow and steady season led to crisp fruit flavors, textural richness, concentration and firm tannins. The wine delivers soft pulses of black fruit, spice and dried mint. In fact, at this point in our full Redigaffi retrospective you begin to taste secondary or oak-driven aromas (that haven't completely integrated yet). The best part of this 2004 Merlot is its lasting freshness. This wine never feels heavy or too thick. Actually, it's quite the opposite.

The inky-colored 2004 Redigaffi, 100% Merlot aged for 16 months in new oak, offers expressive, nuanced aromatics along with sensations of richly-textured blue and black jammy fruit, minerals, mint, chocolate, spices and sweet toasted oak on big, powerful frame with notable underlying structure and a warm, resonating finish. Although it has enough structure and acidity to drink well for another decade or so, I enjoy Redigaffi most in its youth. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2016. Importer: Winebow, Montvale, NJ; tel. (201) 445-0620; fax (201) 445-9868

This 100% Merlot’s top-notch performance starts off with a beautiful, saturated ruby red color and continues with soft, well-defined aromas of sweet milk chocolate, clove, ground cinnamon and forest berries. Secondary aromas are of vanilla, licorice and toast; the wine is amazingly lively in the mouth with voluptuous, liquid chocolate-like flavors and an extra-long finish. ——M.L.(4/1/2007)—— 95