Winemaker Notes
This vibrant wine greets us with the delicate fragrance of jasmine, honeysuckle and cherry blossoms, along with blood orange and lime zest. Ripe white peach, nectarine, Pink Lady apple and Asian pear add intriguing dimensions. Toasted brioche, hazelnut and hibiscus tea further expand its elegant nature. The palate is a heightened reflection of aroma, bursting with more citrus and stone fruits and showing a bit of the wet-stone minerality that will develop with time. The long, layered finish follows through with just a hint of sweet pink grapefruit.
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Spectator
Succulent, lush and rich, with fleshy mango, melon and peach flavors up front, leading to a core of pineapple, lemon and honeysuckle notes. The smoky edge and nervy acidity weave in and out, giving this a fresh finish.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The beautiful 2014 Sauvignon Blanc shows copious quantities of melons, a touch of honeysuckle, crisp, fresh acid and a touch of wet-rock minerality. It is floral, medium-bodied and loaded with fruit, all good characteristics.
-
Wine Enthusiast
Oaky petrol opens the nose of this classically popular and well-loved white from the queen of Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. Vibrant and fresh, it's medium bodied with a rounded girth and complexity. The finish is sheer orange blossom and tangerine.
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.
Capable of a vast array of styles, Sauvignon Blanc is a crisp, refreshing variety that equally reflects both terroir and varietal character. Though it can vary depending on where it is grown, a couple of commonalities always exist—namely, zesty acidity and intense aromatics. This variety is of French provenance. Somm Secret—Along with Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc is a proud parent of Cabernet Sauvignon. That green bell pepper aroma that all three varieties share is no coincidence—it comes from a high concentration of pyrazines (herbaceous aromatic compounds) inherent to each member of the family.
A standout region for its decidedly Californian take on Burgundian varieties, the Russian River Valley is named for the eponymous river that flows through it. While there are warm pockets of the AVA, it is mostly a cool-climate growing region thanks to breezes and fog from the nearby Pacific Ocean.
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir reign supreme in Russian River, with the best examples demonstrating a unique combination of richness and restraint. The cool weather makes Russian River an ideal AVA for sparkling wine production, utilizing the aforementioned varieties. Zinfandel also performs exceptionally well here. Within the Russian River Valley lie the smaller appellations of Chalk Hill and Green Valley. The former, farther from the ocean, is relatively warm, with a focus on red and white Bordeaux varieties. The latter is the coolest, foggiest parcel of the Russian River Valley and is responsible for outstanding Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.