The Merlot i used to make a red wine sauce to accompany a ribeye. In the sauce, I also used shallots, garlic, and mushrooms. A few spices like rosemary, and some lemon zest, gave it just that extra oomph. As for the wine itself, I found it to be a good Merlot kind of middle of a scale. I don’t mean as a mediocre, but I mean, as in it didn’t have too many tannins, and had just a delightful overall balance and flavor.”Tines Merlot is well balanced and versatile. Pleasant notes of dried figs, black currants and cinnamon” is the description from the website. I definitely agree that it is balanced and versatile. And I did taste the fig blackcurrant, and just faintest hint of cinnamon. It was a very pleasant and easily sipped wine. If I was more of a wine drinker, it might’ve been slurped lol.