Lots of tobacco, tapenade, smoked black fruits, and iron notes emerge from the 2018 Two Blondes Vineyard, and it's medium to full-bodied, with a plush, rounded texture, ripe tannins, and a great finish. Coming from a vineyard in cooler Yakima Valley and a blend of 64% Merlot. 20% Cabernet Franc, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Malbec, this complex, rich, nicely concentrated 2018 will keep for two decades.

The 2018 Red Wine Two Blondes is intense, blasting up with a seductive Merlot-centric bouquet of wild blueberries, lavender and sweet smoke before nuances of wet stone and baking spice emerge in the glass. This is a total darling, silky-smooth and elegant, with generous ripe red and blue fruits contrasted by saline-tinged acidity and the slightest tug of sour citrus. It finishes incredibly long and like a basket full of wild berries, staining the palate while also leaving it with an unbelievably fresh impression. There's a balanced structure here, but also enough fruit to nearly mask the tannins at this young stage. Total beauty.

A blend of 64% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Malbec, the 2018 Two Blonds Vineyard opens with a lush and warm nose with aromas of blackberry jus, spiced plums and baked earth. Medium to full-bodied, the palate displays a balanced structure as dusty fruit flavors unpack across the mid-palate, ending with a long, winding finish leaving persistent flavors of black cherry skin in the mouth. The wine rested in 35% new French oak for 22 months. Just under 7,000 bottles were filled. Keep an eye out for this release.