Pride Mountain Vineyards Vintner Select Merlot 2004
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Wine Enthusiast
Pride's regular '04 Merlot was very good. This one's better. Intensely rich and concentrated in the way of mountain wines, it shows huge, ripe cherry marmalade, black raspberry pie filling, rum and cola, mocha-choca and Asian spice flavors, enriched by smoky oak. Any really ripe wine can do that, but only one from great coastal vineyards can achieve this balance of acids and tannins. Should develop over the next ten years.
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Wine Spectator
Not shy about showing its oak, with plenty of cedar, vanilla bean and spice, yet underneath is a delicious core of currant, blackberry and graphite. Oak returns on the finish, providing a woody mouthfeel, but there's lots of depth and concentration. Drink now through 2011. 450 cases made.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
Mountain wines often show a little less fat and a little more structural toughness than their valley-floor counterparts, and this sturdy, very deeply filled Merlot does just that. Its succulent smells of cherries, mint, chocolate and toast lead to like-minded but rather astringent flavors that are presently bound up in youthful tannins, yet its tenacious fruit fights on through at the finish and guarantees that a handsome wine will await all those who exercise five or six years of patience.
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With generous fruit and supple tannins, Merlot is made in a range of styles from everyday-drinking to world-renowned and age-worthy. Merlot is the dominant variety in the wines from Bordeaux’s Right Bank regions of St. Emilion and Pomerol, where it is often blended with Cabernet Franc to spectacular result. Merlot also frequently shines on its own, particularly in California’s Napa Valley. Somm Secret—As much as Miles derided the variety in the 2004 film, Sideways, his prized 1961 Château Cheval Blanc is actually a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
Home to a diverse array of smaller AVAs with varied microclimates and soil types, Sonoma County has something for every wine lover. Physically twice as large as Napa Valley, the region only produces about half the amount of wine but boasts both tremendous quality and variety. With its laid-back atmosphere and down-to-earth attitude, the wineries of Sonoma are appreciated by wine tourists for their friendliness and approachability. The entire county intends to become a 100% sustainable winegrowing region by 2019.
Sonoma County wines are produced with carefully selected grape varieties to reflect the best attributes of their sites—Dry Creek Valley’s consistent sunshine is ideal for Zinfandel, while the warm Alexander Valley is responsible for rich, voluptuous red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are important throughout the county, most notably in the cooler AVAs of Russian River, Sonoma Coast and Carneros. Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Syrah have also found a firm footing here.