Burrowing Owl 2016 Merlot 1.5L

At six months of bottle age this merlot is just settling in for a long run. This has been an important wine for BOV from the beginning, and it remains a top selling red. It’s always been a dense, rich wine dating back to the days of Californian winemaker Bill Dyer. What this wine lacks in elegance it makes up for in concentration of black fruits, spice and warm round textures that linger throughout its warm soft finish. You can drink this now with lamb or beef or wait a decade. It has the chops to go the distance.

Score: 91 points -- Anthony Gismondi, gismondionwine.com, 2018