Chamlija – Merlot 2013 – Thrace

A youthful red wine with a very dense inky colour, almost opaque at the core, with coloured legs, high intensity. Intense nose here; pure fruit, quite modern with dark fruity flavours, dark fruity aromas, with cassis, dark plum, some leather, some notes of roasted wood as well. Still quite unresolved on the palate, very dense, concentrated. I think this nice concentration is coming more from the fruit than from extraction. Tannins are in place, however young. I find the oak to be nicely integrated. This is obviously a rich wine with a high degree of ripeness, but the alcohol doesn’t feel obtrusive. Persistent with a long finish and unctuous juicy dark fruit, with hints of cassis and dark cherry. Very nice wine with a good potential for aging, I would prefer to keep this for another one to two years to open it up a little bit more, and then it should age really well in a cool cellar.

Tasted by the Best Sommelier of the World, Andreas Larsson.