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2002 Pride Mountain Merlot

Removed from a subterranean, temperature and humidity controlled residential cellar; Purchased upon release; Consignor is original owner

2 available
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Ends Sunday, 7pm Pacific

RATINGS

93Wine Spectator

Aromas of cedar, ripe berry fruit and hints of toasty oak...

93Wine Enthusiast

What a fabulous Merlot. Yes, it’s dense in texture, like molten metal, with melted tannins, but it’s kept lively with clean acids. Meanwhile, the flavors are sheer mountain fruit: concentrated blackberries and cherries and decadent mocha...

90Robert M. Parker Jr.

...wonderfully sweet black cherry fruit intermixed with a hint of mocha, white chocolate, and some background sappy wood notes. Its beautiful integration of acidity and tannin make for an elegant, polished, and stunning Merlot...

90Stephen Tanzer

Aromas of redcurrant, tobacco, milk chocolate and loam. Sweet, complex flavors of redcurrant, tobacco, cedar, smoke and minerals...

REGION

United States, California, Napa Valley

Napa Valley AVA is the most famous winemaking region in the United States and one of the most prestigious in the world. With nearly 43,000 acres of vineyards and more than 300 wineries, it is the heart of fine wine production in the United States. Winemaking started in Napa in 1838 when George C. Yount planted grapes and began producing wine commercially. Other winemaking pioneers followed in the late 19th century, including the founders of Charles Krug, Schramsberg, Inglenook and Beaulieu Vineyards. An infestation of phylloxera, an insect that attacks vine roots, and the onset of Prohibition nearly wiped out the nascent Napa wine industry in the early 20th century. But by the late 1950s and early 1960s Robert Mondavi and other visionaries were producing quality wines easily distinguishable from the mass-produced jug wines made in California’s Central Valley. Napa Valley’s AVA was established in 1983, and today there are 16 sub-appellations within the Napa Valley AVA. Many grapes grow well in Napa’s Mediterranean climate, but the region is best known for Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay is also very successfully cultivated, and about 30% of the AVA’s acreage is planted to white grapes, with the majority of those grapes being Chardonnay,

TYPE

Red Wine, Merlot

The Merlot grape is such a deep blue that it is named for the blackbird. It’s an early ripening grape and one of the primary varietals used In Bordeaux. Merlot is also grown in the "International style," which is harvested later to bring out more tannins and body.