88 Points The Wine Advocate
Incorporating tiny amounts of the other major Bordeaux varieties as well as 4% Syrah, the Ste Michelle's basic 2009 Merlot delivers a positive, deep combination of dark cherry, humus-like earthiness tinged with cinnamon and saliva-inducing salinity. As it opens to the air, a greenhouse-like amalgam of flowering and leafing things adds cepage-typical allure, and the polish of tannins and degree of persistence here are admirable for a wine of its price and 100,000-case volume."
