Winemaker Notes
Meredith Estate is the flagship vineyard and a testament to the winery's continuing quest to capture the intense flavors and richness of estate grown grapes in every bottle. In this vintage, a nose filled with sweet aromatics of violets, roses, dark plum and Bing cherry precedes a dense, juicy and mouthwatering entry. Broad and rich tannins then envelop black cherry, boysenberry, cedar and pipe tobacco. Earthy mushroom and leather notes combine with seductive notes of toast throughout the long and lingering finish.
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
Merry Edwards wines always command my attention, and the 2022 Meredith Estate Pinot Noir is a showstopper. It opens with vivid aromas of ripe blackberries, crushed minerals, licorice, and toasty oak, unfolding gracefully into a long, elegant finish. For an inspired pairing, serve it with Grilled Lamb Chops and Shiso Chimichurri—a bold yet nuanced match for a wine of this caliber. (Tasted: March 16, 2025, San Francisco, CA)
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James Suckling
From the winery's flagship vineyard planted in 1997, this is a complex and delectable wine. So much umami on the nose—black olives and soy with dark fruit underneath. On the palate there’s richness, refreshing acidity and tension, with flavors of bitter chocolate and juicy oranges in the long finish.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2022 Pinot Noir Meredith Estate is a dark red color with a youthful hue. It’s deep and has liqueur-like aromas of black cherry and dark stones but needs a bit of air. The palate is full and more approachable, and it palate feels a bit more cherry in this vintage.
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Wine Spectator
This delivers the vintage's typically ripe, fleshy, up-front burst of fruit, with plum and boysenberry puree notes gliding through, flecked with iris and anise along the way. The finish is polished, toasted and generous. Drink now through 2029. 1,120 cases made.
Merry Edwards Winery was founded in 1997 and produces critically acclaimed terroir-driven Pinot Noirs and Sauvignon Blanc using site-specific viticulture in the Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast appellations. Over two decades, Merry assembled a stellar collection of vineyards and with her meticulous attention to detail crafted Pinot Noirs of immense depth, elegant structure and exceptional longevity. Her Sauvignon Blanc is among the most sought after in the world.
Now a Certified California Sustainable Winery, the brand entered a new chapter after Merry’s retirement. Merry’s handpicked successor, Winemaker Heidi von der Mehden, and Winery President Nicole Carter have taken up exactly where Merry left off and will continue to make wines treasured by legions of Merry Edwards’ fans well into the future.
While the Russian River Valley is a large appellation with multiple climate zones and soil types, it is best known for cool-climate varieties, with Pinot Noir as the most celebrated. The grapes benefit from a reliable late afternoon flow of Pacific Ocean fog through the Petaluma Gap and along the Russian River Valley that ensures slow and steady ripening and the preservation of grape acidity. Today many of California’s most highly regarded Pinot Noir vineyards are in the Russian River Valley, along with its sub-appellation, Green Valley.
Historically Russian River Valley Pinot Noirs had bright red fruit and delicate earthy, mineral notes. But changes in viticultural and winemaking practices have led to stylistic changes in some of the region’s wines. Adjustments to canopy management, among other techniques, have resulted in riper fruit and bolder wines as well. These show flavors of black cherry, blackberry, cola, spice and darker, loamy earth tones, accenting traditional Pinot Noir notes of strawberry, raspberry and light cherry.