Merry Edwards Russian River Pinot Noir 2020
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Jeb
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This wine opens with a big, aromatic burst of sweet sassafras, baking spice, blackberries and stone fruits. In the mouth, it is full and robust with ripe fruit and round tannins. As the wine continues to open, it shows a true purity of fruit and becomes silkier on the palate. Juicy, sweet notes of black cherries, violets and sweet vanilla oak carry though in a long, pleasing finish.
Lamb is a classic protein to pair with their Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, and these herb-filled, juicy Mediterranean-Style Lamb Burgers are no exception. What sets this recipe apart are the topping suggestions: spiced yogurt, olive tapenade, feta cheese, tomatoes, fresh spinach leaves, sautéed onions, mushrooms. You can do one, some or all of the toppings, the more the messier.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Moving into some black fruits with the 2020 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley, it offers notes of dark fresh earth, toast, and cinnamon stick. The texture is full, with fairly gripping structure, and the palate is rich with black cherry, tea leaf, and forested earth. Drink this over the next 10 or more years.
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Wine Enthusiast
This smooth, ripe and inviting wine wafts raspberry, strawberry and cherry aromas and offers all that fruit in the flavors as well. While full bodied and rich in texture, it also has an appetizing vein of good acidity that slices through the palate and finish.
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Decanter
A very dark, brooding and layered expression of Pinot Noir that honours the legacy of the Merry Edwards style, which bears an unabashed California opulence but not in any extreme excess. The first indication is a pronounced whiff of cedar, but even this is laced with intriguing conifer, clove, and bay leaf notes. The wine maintains its dark complexion on the palate, building in richness with clove, crushed cocoa nibs, and brown Indian spices. Plenty of dark berry fruit is silky and buoyant, and the finish is rich in crushed stone minerals.
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Wine Spectator
Packs some punch, with a dense and juicy core of linzer torte, blackberry and black cherry flavors. Well-defined, with light anise and apple wood accents through the structured finish. A bit unbridled in feel but will certainly have fans. Best from 2023
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium ruby-purple, the 2020 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley has restrained, slightly rustic rhubarb and red and black cherry aromas with touches of burnt orange peel, licorice and laurel leaves. The medium-bodied palate is firm and gently chewy with muted freshness and a spicy finish.
Rating: 90?
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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.
While the Russian River Valley is a large appellation with multiple climate zones and soil types, it is best known for cool-climate varieties, with Pinot Noir as the most celebrated. The grapes benefit from a reliable late afternoon flow of Pacific Ocean fog through the Petaluma Gap and along the Russian River Valley that ensures slow and steady ripening and the preservation of grape acidity. Today many of California’s most highly regarded Pinot Noir vineyards are in the Russian River Valley, along with its sub-appellation, Green Valley.
Historically Russian River Valley Pinot Noirs had bright red fruit and delicate earthy, mineral notes. But changes in viticultural and winemaking practices have led to stylistic changes in some of the region’s wines. Adjustments to canopy management, among other techniques, have resulted in riper fruit and bolder wines as well. These show flavors of black cherry, blackberry, cola, spice and darker, loamy earth tones, accenting traditional Pinot Noir notes of strawberry, raspberry and light cherry.