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93 WA. "Medium ruby, the 2016 Pinot Noir Flax Vineyard (all Pommard clone) opens with touches of gravel dust, dried herbs, red cherries and red currants with notes of rose petals and amaro. The palate is medium-bodied, silky and intense with bitters-laced fruits. It has a firm frame of grainy tannins and integrated acidity, finishing long and latent. This still needs another year or two in bottle. [Only] 580 cases produced. Merry Edwards winery is at the start of a new era. Since its founding in 1997, Merry has been at the helm crafting the wines. In 2019, she sold the winery and several of its vineyards to Roederer. Her assistant, Heidi von der Mehden, has taken over winemaking while Edwards stays on to help with the transition. In 2017, the pair decided to pick grapes before the anticipated Labor Day heat wave. 'Merry looked at the weather and said, ‘pick,’' Heidi comments. 'We got everything in before it got burnt or shriveled.' Merry says, 'The pick in 2017 had to be based more on experience. Sometimes you just have to play off your gut. Overall it is a very vibrant, lively vintage.'" Wine Advocate Interim, Dec 2019 |