Winemaker Notes
The lifted, aromatic nose is filled with bright red raspberry, red currant, exotic notes of sandalwood and a hint of vanilla, along with touches of forest floor, earthy evergreen and cocoa. Its mouth-coating entry is round and generous, offering up layers of juicy red cherries and refreshing acidity. While bright and engaging now, an underlying core of lushness shows it possesses the elements to develop over time.
A perfect match with the Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir is an over-the-top charcuterie board. Artisan cured meats, your favorite local cheeses and freshly baked baguettes, olives, nuts, dried fruits, pickled vegetables, roasted garlic.
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
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Wine Enthusiast
Creamy red fruit and light stemmy spice adorn this soft, silky wine from coastal sites. It shows an opulent mouthfeel and teases of rose and forest floor. Cranberry, pomegranate and rhubarb come to mind on the palate, as full-bodied tannins and oak contrast it all.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2019 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast is fresh with aromas of raspberry candy, wet stone, and cinnamon spice. The palate is forward and intense, with notes of iron-rich earth, a silky texture, fine-grained tannins, and rounded cherry fruit.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast, medium ruby in color, has a nose of red and black cherries, with touches of dusty earth, charcuterie and tar. Medium-bodied, the palate is silky and full of luscious, spice-laced red berry fruits, finishing long with a touch of floral perfume.
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Wine Spectator
Opens with an intensely fruity aroma, with concentrated cherry, plum and red currant flavors that are filled with rich acidity. Underbrush accents midpalate lead to ripe spiciness on the finish.
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.
The Sonoma Coast AVA is large in area but, not counting overlapping regions like Russian River Valley, only has a few thousand acres of grapevines—and it’s no wonder. Much of the region is rugged and not easily accessible. Its proximity to the Pacific Ocean’s fog and cool breezes limits the varieties that can be cultivated, but it proves to be an ideal environment for high quality Pinot Noir.
Since fog is a frequent fact of life here, as are heavy marine layers that sometimes bring rain, the best vineyards are wisely planted above the fog line, on picturesque ridges that capture enough sun to provide even ripening. That, with the overnight drop in temperature that reliably preserves acidity, results in fine expressions of Pinot Noir that often receive tremendous critic and consumer praise alike, and are often in high demand.