The candle jar is wonderful. Love the look of it. The lid almost looks like cast iron. And beautiful colored wax. The Merlot smell is strong and probably authentic. The whole box smelled like someone had wasted an entire strong scented bottle of wine in it. I am not overly fond of the smell. I think I confused the candle with a cabernet candle I got from another vendor which is a sweet, rich, full bodied fragrance of ripen grapes. Or just a sweet fruity fragrance ramped up with a splash of alcoholic fragrance. That's what I was hoping to smell. So may be my mistake in misplaced expectations. But the sweet note I wanted was nonexistent.