Rue Naujac 33 Merlot 2019

The name is a nod to négociant and wine agent Nicholas Pearce’s formative time spent in Bordeaux as 33 is the region’s department number and Naujac, his street address. Pearce’s collaborative merlot from Washington’s Columbia Valley is impressively concentrated, full of ripe, fleshy fruit, wood spice and rich, voluminous tannins. The wine presents more new world than old world, is cleanly made and offers excellent length. Best now to 2026. Tasted April 2023. Score – 90. (Sara d’Amato, winealign.com)