A great Merlot from Barkan that has already hit its peak and is on its way down. The wine is dark garnet in color and the bottle I tasted threw light sediment (I’m a fan of sediment, by the way). On the nose and palate, the first attack is filled with smoke, followed by notes of blackberry, raspberry and sweet wood. Medium-to-full bodied with well integrated tannins. The finish is long and smokey with a lingering note of sweet wood at the very end. This one is building up speed downhill, so drink up!