2005 Merry Edwards Pinot Noir Klopp Vineyard Russian River Valley 14.4% alc. ($57) 96 points
I had to inaugurate the site with a true classic from the cellar. I was lucky enough to have Russian River Pinots act as my entrée to Sonoma wines. My first was a 1994 David Bruce Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. I didn’t know at the time that Dr. Bruce operated out of Santa Cruz, nor would I have cared, all I knew was that red cherry, mushroomy burst of madness was something to behold…and then chase.
Merry Edwards came onto my radar soon thereafter. No flash, and talented as all hell, Ms. Edwards makes exquisite juice. From her humid, tropical, sensual Hawaii-in-a-botte, also known as her Sauvignon Blanc (ret. approx. $29) to all of her infamous, and site specific pinot noir offerings, she’s a longstanding Sonoma Goddess, so I’m not letting you in on any sort of state secret here (plenty of those later, but we’re just getting acquainted.) Ms. Edwards’ wines always score well into the 90’s in all the wine press, and with good reason. Even 7 years in bottle, the 2005 Klopp Pinot still exhibits ripe, red currants tempered with English Breakfast tea on the approach, a weighty espresso bean gravitas on the midpalate chased by a zingy acidity and return of the red fruits on the back. This still has many wonderful years of life on it, but I had to pop and pour, ya know, for the blog.
