Pride Mountain Vineyards Merlot 2007

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BN#280136

Pride Mountain Vineyards

Our 2007 Merlot is a multi-layered, expressive wine. The base blend is composed of wines from 11 distinctive vineyard blocks across our mountaintop estate. Texture has been polished by blending with 6% Cabernet Sauvignon from our intensely structured Rock Arch vineyard block. The wine opens with a big, perfumey nose featuring red raspberry, plum preserves, black and maraschino cherries and brown sugar. The palate is soft, luscious and silky, with intense flavors that coat the mouth. With sustained presence, fruit and spice flavors are revealed in bursts and waves. The structure is typical of our mountaintop Merlot – tannins are firm, but have been ripened to the point of being round rather than aggressive, a wine that leaves the taste buds longing for a second sip.

Wine Spectator

Lush and rich, yet impeccably structured, with bold red currant and toasty mocha aromas and layered flavors of ripe plum, loamy earth and spice, finishing with big but ripe tannins. Drink now through 2015. Tasted twice, with consistent notes.

Score: 94. —Tim Fish, June 15, 2010.

Wine Advocate

The 2007 Merlot, which comes from both Napa and Sonoma fruit (the Pride Mountain vineyards are split by the county line), exhibits a dense purple color as well as abundant chocolate and berry fruit notes, medium to full body, and great freshness, length, and depth. It is a heady, succulent style of Merlot to drink over the next 7-10 years.

Score: 92. —Robert Parker, December 2009.

Wine Enthusiast

Unusually rich and concentrated for a Merlot. Shows classic structure, with firm, ripe tannins and good acidity, although the oak sticks out. A small percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon adds a blackberry depth to the cherries and raspberries. Decant if you drink now, but better to cellar until mid-2010.

Score: 91. —Steve Heimoff, May 01, 2010.