Rock Island Red Columbia Valley Merlot Blend

The trick here is to decant the crap out of this wine. Right now, straight out of the bottle this is tight, bright, and tart. But a double decant plus an hour of open time and its a very decent wine. Ripe cherry notes, raspberry jam, and cola notes make for a pleasant and tasty food wine.

Young and all wound up. Needs a lengthy decant or a few years in the cellar, but nice. Great structure.

A nice bottle of wine, around $20 at my local store. Fruity and hedonistic to start with lots of oak to finish. Tannins are present but not overpowering. Nice dark red/purple color, opened up even more in the decanter.

Notes of pepper

Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley blend with some merlot. Quite nice on a Sunday afternoon on Bainbridge Island

Very good red blend. Cherry flavors prominent. Had with good Italian pasta with sausage. Nice.

Modest fruit up from. Pronounced, but not overpowering structure. Moderate tannins.

Discovered this at a "Bang for your buck reds" event. The criteria was great wines that make you say wow when you hear the price. Less than $20 for 2016 vintage. Very good with red meats. As others have commented, benefits from decanting. I get some spice on the front, and good mouth feel. Pleasant finish.

2016

Excellent blend