2021 Vintner Select Merlot, Pride Mountain Vineyards

2021 Vintner Select Merlot

Our aim is for the Vintner Select Merlot to showcase the unique elegance and power that clone 3 can produce at the crest of the Mayacamas. The 2021 is spot on. As you pour your first glass, plum and tobacco assert themselves but with further examination, gracious dollops of nutmeg, baking spice and menthol with a whisper of dried orange rind all emerge. On the palate, this wine is structured and serious, while also generous and bordering on juicy. It is happily balanced at the point of optimal bliss and is the perfect expression of our mountaintop estate.

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Reviews

Jeb Dunnuck: Napa Valley’s 2021s and 2022s – Part 1 - Rating: 92

Largely in the same style as the classic Merlot, the 2021 Merlot Vintner Select is 100% varietal and was raised 18 months in 45% new barrels. Redcurrants, red plums, smoked tobacco, and spicy wood notes all give way to a rich, medium to full-bodied, broad, and textured Merlot that has a touch more ripeness and structure than the base cuvee.
Robert Parker Wine Advocate: Jul 03, 2024 - Rating: 92

All Merlot, mainly Clone 3, Pride's 2021 Merlot Vintner's Select is dominated by scents of mocha and cherries. It's a nicely concentrated, medium to full-bodied effort, framed by firm, dusty tannins that suggest a certain amount of ageability, but it comes across as just slightly less complex than the Cabernet Sauvignon Vintner's Select.

Reviewed by

Joe Czerwinski

2021 Vintner Select Merlot

Reviews

Jeb Dunnuck: Napa Valley’s 2021s and 2022s – Part 1 - Rating: 92

Robert Parker Wine Advocate: Jul 03, 2024 - Rating: 92