This outstanding wine is a blend of 60% Merlot from Washington's Champoux vineyard and 40% from the Hillside vineyard in eastern Oregon. Beautifully integrated fruit flavors suggest pie cherry and ripe strawberry, with dusty herbs scattered throughout. The herbal notes are not at all bitter or tannic, so the wine has an elegance to it, and shows nicely developed and integrated flavors, with the muscular power that winemaker Peter Rosback knows how to coax from his grapes. ——P.G.(12/31/2007)—— 92