Pedestal Merlot 2009

"This red is round, generous and expressive, offering plum, loganberry, cherry and clove flavors that pick up hints of loam and floral character as the finish tightens its focus. Impressive for its length and deft balance."

95 Points

Wine Spectator

" Bright ruby-red. Very ripe aromas of black cherry, melted licorice and minerals. Sweet, ripe and strong, with a distinctly sappy quality to its black cherry and sexy oak flavors. This struck me as more masculine than the 2008 version and every bit as fresh--and in need of longer bottle aging. Finishes classically dry and long, with solid backbone."

92 Points

International Wine Cellar

"'It's a blending grape,' Shoup continues to maintain about Merlot, 'and has to be grown in really special ways to achieve greatness standing alone' – he should surely have added: 'in special places' – but, nonetheless, he felt that given its status as something of a signature grape for Washington, he should (to hear him tell, with considerable effort) persuade Michel Rolland to render a Merlot showcase, of which 2009 Pedestal is the latest installment, prominently featuring Red Mountain fruit, while involving small amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon and (for the first time) Malbec. Scents of cherry preserves, mint, peat, espresso roast, toasted coconut and caramelized resin, presage a correspondingly complex, torrefied and confitured palate impression. The polish and plushness here are impressive as is the wine's sheer sweet and smoky length, though a hint of heat does creep into the finish from 14.9% alcohol. This definitely should be served no warmer than 65 degrees Fahrenheit. I imagine it will remain fresh for at least the better part of a decade."

91 Points

The Wine Advocate