Is there anything better than a single-vineyard Pinot Noir?
I feel like Pinot is the grape perhaps most-benefitted by the single vineyard wine. Chardonnay tastes a lot like Chardonnay from vineyard to vineyard in the same region, and style is more a product of winemaker intervention than terroir.
Cabernet Sauvignon? Better when blended, in my opinion. Sure, all wine is different from vineyard to vineyard, at least to some extent. But it is in Pinot Noir that I personally feel those differences most stand out.
There’s maybe no place in the United States where this fact is more obvious than in Sonoma County’s magnificent Russian River Valley. Here, wineries like Merry Edwards (and many others) make a half-dozen or more different Pinot Noirs. Why? Because the individual vineyards they have access to produce such different fruit that it’s worth it to produce a wine from each one.
Sure, these wineries also produce blends. Merry Edwards, in fact, makes a Russian River Valley-designated Pinot Noir, along with a Sonoma Coast designate. But the six different single vineyard Pinot Noirs are what the winery is perhaps most known for. And this, in my opinion, is one of the best.
The Meredith Estate vineyard is the southernmost of Merry Edwards' properties, located just southwest of the city of Sebastopol. A heavily-fogged 24-acre parcel, wine from Meredith Estate is complex, yet subtle.
The wine is gorgeous in the glass. A ruby red core that lightens only slightly to the edges. On the nose, hints of berry mingle with a dose of earthiness. No alcohol heat, here.
Take a sip, and the first thing that pops out to you is the velvet texture of the wine. Smooth, silky, but with a robustness to its body. This isn’t a simple wine. There are dimensions here. Palate notes include strawberries, dark red stone fruits, a hint of plum and a dash of welcome earthy richness.
It’s delicious. It’s not simple, but neither is it unapproachable. The 2009 Meredith is a wine that longs to be drunk, and I assure you, you’ll be ecstatic to oblige.
I recommend this wine without an associated pairing. Drink it on its own, with friends, and celebrate something. You won’t regret it.
Verdict: 92/100
Price Point: $70