Charles Smith Velvet Devil Merlot 2019

Washington State is that bit of America above Oregon, which in turn is just above California. Apologies to American readers who are probably going 'd'uh' here but wines from Washington State aren't that common in Britain. Which is a shame because it makes some delicious wines which tend to be better value than some of its neighbours to the south. This merlot from Charles Smith majors on fresh fruit rather than oak and it's nice to see moderate levels of alcohol too, 13.5%.