I keep reading a lot about 2013 Long Island reds lately. I’m sure you have too. Some are even calling it “Long Island’s Best Vintage.” Please take those proclamations with a grain of salt — at least for now.

It was a great growing season, no doubt, but nearly every vintage is labeled “the greatest” at some point, either during harvest or once the wines start coming out. Keep in mind that no matter the vintage or its quality, wineries need to sell their wine. It’s to their benefit to laud a vintage as “the greatest ever.” Every year.

Before we jump to the 2013 (which are very good by the way so far) here’s a tasty merlot from the 2012 vintage: Waters Crest Winery 2012 Merlot.

You may know Waters Crest for its small tasting room tucked into an industrial strip mall on Route 48, but that’s old news now. Jim Waters recently opened his new, larger room in a standalone building on Main Road in Cutchogue. It’s a beautiful place that even more recently sold out of this wine – but you can still find it in local shops.

The nose offers intense red cherry aromas that lean almost to the candied, but are kept in check by hints of tobacco, toasty oak and mossy earth. Medium bodied, the palate starts off with sweet red fruit and a toasty edge. The tannins are of medium intensity and support the earthy, mossy-mushroomy complexity and just a splinter of oak. The finish is smooth and almost creamy, but there is enough stuffing here for at least short-term aging and possibly longer-term.

This wine was a previous northforker.com wine of the week.