2015 Pride Merlot

Winemaker Notes

Medium-dark ruby; herbal, spicy, strawberry and blackberry fruit aroma with hints of sage, lavender, green olive and graphite; full body; rich, ripe, firmly structured, dark berry fruit flavors with good depth and a hint of milk chocolate; full tannin; lingering aftertaste. While approachable now this youthful wine deserves a good three to five more years of bottle aging to round out. Very highly recommended

Our 2015 Merlot offers incredibly expressive aromas of strawberry, blueberry and plum, which carry through into a round, luscious palate full of bright berry and lollipop fruit notes. The finish is lengthy yet integrated, with plenty of tannin that is rich, ripe and velvety on the palate.

Vineyard selections of Clone 3 and Clone 181 merlot were harvested throughout late September and early October, fermented in stainless steel vats and then aged in French oak barrels (40% new) as separate wine lots for 14 months prior to blending. To the base blend, we added 12% cabernet sauvignon to bring structure and 0.1% petit verdot (because we love our petit verdot and we love to get finicky in our blending process).

About Winery

Pride Mountain Vineyards is situated on the Summit Ranch, one of Napa Valley's oldest grape producers atop Spring Mountain. With over 120 years of viticulture documented there, Jim and Carolyn Pride purchased Summit Ranch and their first vintage premiered in 1991. Today, Pride Mountain Vineyards produces Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Viognier and limited bottlings of Syrah and Sangiovese.