Desiderio Toscana IGT 2018 Avignonesi

A gorgeous merlot with so much plum, olive, chocolate and fresh herb, such as tobacco. It’s full and focused with a dense center palate, yet it remains lively and focused. From organically grown grapes. Best after 2024, but already wonderful to taste and drink.

With herbal-tinged cherries, dusted with cocoa and then pleasantly offset by a flourish of zested lemon, the 2018 Merlot Desiderio holds your attention firm. It’s velvety and dark in character, youthfully dense and a bit of a bruiser today. This impresses most with its potential, slowly unwinding with notes of spiced plum, sage and blue-tinged inner florals. It finishes long and slightly chewy with balsam herbs, mocha, tobacco and a sour citrus twang that mingles with its grippy tannins to create a lovely push and pull of tension. That said, the 2018 still needs time and should be an excellent option for medium-term cellaring.