Pinot Alert~Russian River~Merry Edwards

Merry Edwards produces some of the greatest Pinot Noir in the United States and the world.  Since their inception in 1997, their single vineyard Pinots have continually recieved multi 90+ point reviews one and all.  They are rarely on sale.  Below you will find three different Merry Edwards single vineyard Pinot Noirs all in very small quantities and highly discounted.  All the prices are the lowest in the country and are what would normally be wholesale or even less.

All the very best,
Rex & Michele

2012 Flax Vineyard Pinot Noir
Only 2 bottles, $58 per
96 points
"Most Merry Edwards Pinots are built for the long haul, some moreso than others. The 2012 Flax Vineyard Pinot from Merry is a beast of a wine along the lines of beauty and the beast. This vintage is rich, dense and layered, showing an intense raspberry aroma, spice and a hint of earthy forest floor. It is young and bold, in need of another two or three years in the cellar to come into its own, but when it does it will be one of Merry's finest efforts to date from the exceptional vineyard."
Robert Whitley, Wine Review Online, Feb. 17, 2015
 
94 points / Editors' Choice
"The bouquet of this earthy, aromatic vineyard-designate wine is bursting with freshly picked wildflowers and earth. The palate is mouthwatering in blueberry, strawberry and a bite of sour cherry. Lively acidity keeps the proceedings on a hair-raising ride, before diving headfirst into a long finish of bacon and dark chocolate."
Virginie Boone, Wine Enthusiast, July 2015
 
93 points
"One of the things I admire about Merry Edwards's Pinot Noir is that the single vineyard bottlings are different one from the other.  The 2012 Flax Vineyard is more muted and more fruit focused at this stage compared to the Klopp Ranch with less savory character.  The tannins are a touch more prominent, but not astringent or out of place given the overall weight of the wine.   If you give it time -- a half hour or so -- you'll appreciate that there's a lot going on in the glass.  An attractive subtle bitterness in the finish is refreshing because it reminds you that this is not a jammy overwrought wine, but rather a seriously complex one."
Michael Apstein, Wine Review Online, Aug. 25, 2015
 
92 points
"Bright and juicy with smooth texture and lovely black cherry and raspberry; spice and mellow acid structure; bright and long. "
Anthony Dias Blue, Tasting Panel magazine: "Blue Reviews," April 2015
 
91 points
"The 2012 Pinot Noir Flax Vineyard brings together a very classic sense of Russian River richness with expressive floral and savory notes that add finesse. The flavors are lifted and very nicely delineated throughout. Crushed rose petal, raspberry, mint and white pepper add the final layers of nuance on the distinctly aromatic, high-toned finish."
Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media, May 2015
 
90 points
"Firm and chunky, with a tight, dense core of earth and mineral, laced wild berry and blueberry flavors. This earns points for direct intensity, yet eases off gracefully, ending with a mix of berry fruit."
James Laube, Wine Spectator, May 2015
 
90 points / "Very Highly Recommended"
"Medium ruby; attractive, intense, raspberry and blackberry fruit aroma with hints of cedar chest and cola; medium-full body; concentrated, deep, textured, red and black fruit flavors ... lingering aftertaste. Needs a few more years of bottle aging."
California Grapevine, April 2015
 
90 points
"Here again is a fully ripe Pinot that is long on extract and serious intent, and, while it displays unmistakable kinship with its several like-minded cellarmates, it is the sturdiest and most sinewy of the bunch. It is a big wine to be sure, but it carries nary an ounce of fat, and the firming effects of its ample acid and tannins tag it as one that most definitely needs a wait. It may not reach quite the same heights as its partners from the Klopp Ranch and the Meredith Estate, but it is assuredly worth hiding away for a half-dozen years."
Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wine, June 2015
 
"The Flax 2012 is an elegant, aromatic wine that is full bodied, supple in texture, crisp, and finely balanced. It has intense fresh fruit character (plum, cherry, strawberry), with floral, spicy, toasty overtones. Very long finish. Delicious."
Ronn Weigand, Restaurant Wine, April 2015
 
"This Week's Wine Picks"
"A pinot with great complexity. Aromas and flavors of Bing cherry, blueberry, currant and white pepper. Wins you over with its depth of flavor."
Peg Melnik, The Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Nov. 14, 2014
 
2013 Flax Vineyard Pinot Noir
Only 24 bottles, $69 per
94 points
"The 2013 Flax Vineyard pinot is quintessential Merry Edwards: Big, bold, meaty and delicious. Merry has a knack for making rich pinot without losing the essential elegance that makes it so charming and seductive. The Flax from this excellent vintage offers notes of earthy forest floor, notes of black and red fruits and spice, coupled with abundant tannins that will prolong the life of this wine for up to ten years or more."
Robert Whitley, Wine Review Online, May 10,2016
 
93 points
"This is a Westside Road site known for its rocky soils, and the wine presents sassafras, cherry-berry and roses on the entry before laying down a tightly woven mix of sour, salty cranberry and blood orange. It is softly voluptuous and velvety, though young, with a biting chewiness that should mellow in the cellar. Drink now through 2028."
Virginie Boone, Wine Enthusiast, July 2016
 
92 points
"Deep ruby color; smooth, luscious with juicy black raspberry and hints of vanilla oak; bright and long, lovely."
Anthony Dias Blue, Tasting Panel magazine, March 2016
 
"The Flax is outstanding: refined in character, full bodied, and well balanced, with a very long, crisp finish, suggesting at least a few more years of aging. It has evident richness and aromas/flavors reminiscent of plum, blueberry, cherry, rose petal, and spicy oak."
Ronn Weigand, Restaurant Wine, August 2015
 
2012 Olivet Lane Pinot Noir
Only 5 bottles, $69 per
96 points
"Merry's flagship pinot noir is always sure to please, and the 2012 Olivet Lane is no exception. This is a rich, spicy, perfumed pinot with layered complexity, showing aromas of raspberry, plum and cherry. There is power with elegance, and firm acid and grippy tannins that bode well for long-term cellaring. The persistence of flavor on the palate through a very long finish is almost astonishing. This is Merry Edwards at her best, but then I could say that about her Olivet Lane pinot just about every vintage."
Robert Whitley, Wine Review Online, December 2014
 
95 points
"Though similarly plush and polished, a thread of red fruit flavors is woven into the fabric of the Merry Edwards Olivet Lane Pinot Noir, which sets it apart from both the Coopersmith and Georganne bottlings. At this stage, with its charming subtleties, the Olivet Lane is the most expressive of these three single vineyard bottlings. It's not tiring to drink because each sip brings different nuances -- a hint of fruit, some earthiness, where the savory mushroom note come from. In short, it sings."
Michael Apstein, Wine Review Online, January 2015
 
"A quintessential Russian River Pinot Noir"
"Sonoma-based Merry Edwards is justly renowned for her Pinot Noirs, and the Olivet Lane wine is one of my favorites. Opulent, with explosive aromas of red fruit and spice, it is rich in texture but polished. A quintessential Russian River Pinot Noir."
Lettie Teague, Wall Street Journal, May 1, 2015
 
92 points
"A beautifully complex, spicy and elegant range of both red and dark pinot fruit is nuanced by background wisps of sandalwood and floral hints. The sleek and wonderfully textured medium weight flavors possess a velvety mouth feel before culminating in a dusty, firm and strikingly long and complex finale. This is lovely and built to age."
Allen Meadows, Burghound.com, June 2015
 
92 points
"Elegant and silky with juicy cherry, spice and tangy acidity; bright and lively, clean, savory and long."
Anthony Dias Blue, Tasting Panel magazine: "Blue Reviews," November 2014
 
"Best Bottles to Give This Holiday Season"
"Aromas of oak and rose petals, flavors of black raspberries, cassis and cola, powerful and complex, with big body and long, smooth finish." Read the full article here: http://www.miamiherald.com/living/food-drink/wine/article4273629.html
Fred Tasker, Miami Herald, Dec. 4, 2014
 
91 points
"Wispy top notes of dried brush and bark are gradually countered by slow-to-emerge, red cherry fruit in the nose and the flavors that follow with quite solid, somewhat compact, young fruit taking its time in coming to the fore. The wine is blends fleshy texture and fairly tight structure, as Olivet Lane Pinots are wont to do, but there is no lack of fruity solidity here, and it has the depth and focus to grow with cellaring and can be set aside for a few years with complete confidence that its future is bright and assured."
Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wine, February 2015
 
"Impressive"
"A gorgeous pinot with depth. Complex, with layers of cassis, boysenberry and rose petals. Seamless texture. Impressive."
Peg Melnik, The Santa Rosa Press Democrat, "Wine List," Nov. 2, 2014
 
91 points
"(A)ssertive, fragrant, red and black fruit aroma with spicy notes and hints of dried herbs and vanilla; moderately concentrated, textured, raspberry and Bing cherry flavors with a note of sweet oak."
Nick Ponomareff, California Grapevine, November 2014
 
90 points
"From a longstanding source of primo grapes, this Olivet Lane Pinot sings in floral rose and violet while offering damp earth, subtle hints of black raspberry and striking acidity. With well-integrated oak and softly layered tannins, it's on the lighter side of the producer's line-up of wines, building up steam as it goes."
Virginie Boone, Wine Enthusiast, June 2015
 
"A supple, complex, finely balanced Pinot Noir of exceptional quality. It is rich but subtle; a wine with seamless texture, and a very long, persistent finish. In aroma/flavor, it tastes of plum, violet, rose petal, cherry, black currant, toast, vanilla, and cedar. A tremendous wine."
Ronn Weigand, Restaurant Wine, April 2015

One of California's first woman winemakers, Merry Edwards began her career at Mount Eden Vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains in 1974. She went on to become the founding winemaker at Matanzas Creek in 1977 and remained there until 1984. For the next decade, Merry consulted for numerous wineries, large and small, in Oregon and many diverse appellations of California.

In 1997, family and friends joined Merry to found Merry Edwards Winery, with a focus on producing Pinot Noirs with a sense of place from Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast. In 2008, she and her husband, Ken Coopersmith, completed their winery on the site of Coopersmith Vineyard. It was then expanded in 2010. In this venue, tastings are hosted to educate visitors about Merry's handcrafted wines and site-specific viticulture.


Ken was her helpmate in the installation of her first vineyard, Meredith Estate, in 1998. This was followed by Coopersmith in 2001. Long-term leases were then negotiated for Warren's Hill, Flax Vineyard and Georganne. Although most of those earlier plantings were Pinot Noir, in 2014 new Sauvignon Blanc developments got under way at a new property in Forestville and on the lower slope of Meredith. At Merry and Ken's new home property in Sebastopol, a Pinot Noir vineyard has been planted to Merry's Clone - UCD 37.


Along with two regional blends, six vineyard-designated Pinot Noirs are bottled. In 2001, a barrel-fermented Sauvignon Blanc was added to the portfolio. Merry is also now making a single-vineyard designate Chardonnay from the venerable Olivet Lane, as well as an occasional late harvest Sauvignon Blanc and late-disgorged-style of sparkling wine.


In 2013, Merry's 40th year as a winemaker, she was not only inducted into the Culinary Institute of America's Vintners Hall of Fame, she also won the coveted James Beard Award for Best Wine, Beer or Spirits Professional in the United States, just the fourth woman to be so honored.

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