Pedestal Merlot 2006

Professional Ratings

• 96 Connoisseurs' Guide
  8% Cabernet Sauvignon; 4% Petit Verdot; 2% Malbec. If this finely crafted wine is just a bit closed, it nonetheless delivers a fair dollop of concentrated black cherry fruit together with rooty and creme brulee richness in its layered aromas. Its slight tightness continues in the mouth, yet here the wine unbends just a touch more and offers complete and convincing proof that the depth and concentration presaged by the wine's early smells are wholly at hand. Rich, extracted, amply tannic and, yes, somewhat drying today, this one has all the pieces in place to mature handsomely over the next decade.
• 94 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
  The 2006 Pedestal features Michel Rolland who was at Long Shadows on the day of my tasting to do some blending. His wine is 86% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec aged for 22 months in 85% new French oak. Purple-colored, it offers an alluring bouquet of sandalwood, pencil lead, spice box, incense, black currants, and black cherry. Seamless on the palate, this plush wine has layers of ripe, savory flavors, well-concealed tannin, excellent aging potential, and a 60-second finish. It will provide much pleasure between 2013 and 2026.
• 93 Wine Spectator
  Dark and spicy, with a tarry edge to the blackberry and currant fruit, emerging on the never-ending finish with richness, polish and elements of spice, pepper and an extra whoosh of cherry. It all keeps sailing effortlessly. Best from 2011 through 2018. 1,877 cases made.