2001 Pride Mountain Vineyards Merlot Vintner's Select Mountaintop Vineyard

(94 points) The 2001 Merlot Mountaintop Vineyard exhibits an even more saturated ruby/purple color as well as tighter, more restrained aromatics (dusty, earthy, spice box, black cherry and black currant fruit). Rich, full-bodied and extraordinarily young for a Merlot, this big wine comes from Pride’s high elevation (2,000 plus feet) vineyard. Great acidity and plenty of sweet tannin provide structure as well as delineation. While approachable, it will benefit from another 3-4 years of cellaring and should easily last 20-25 years. This is a provocative, high intensity, singular Merlot that will make believers out of this varietal’s critics. These impressive 2001s from Pride Mountain Vineyards were made during the regime of Bob Foley and the late Jim Pride. The two most limited production cuvees are the Reserve Claret and Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, which are almost impossible to find. Wine Advocate # 195 Jun 2011