For those who like to drink a big wine young, this was quite an experience. Not decanted, but first glass allowed to sit open and untouched for 15 minutes. A deep dark rich purple wine, translucent, with those slow fingerling legs on the glass that can mesmerize you. My first approach was to nose the edge of the Riedel very cautiously and was rewarded with a light minty initial hit. As I pushed the schnoz forward, complex spiciness could be separated out from a deep dark fruit mixture with gentle oak backdrop. Edging forward to the first sip was like Poe's Descent into the Maelstrom....I knew I was not coming back.

Heavyweight mouthfeel, a parade of deep plum, black currant, oak and a mocha-like taste rewarded the first few sips. Surprisingly, the acids and tannins allowed full identification of the gorgeous fruit in this merlot. The finish was long, syrupy, fruitful, and exciting.

Dick

This edition of this merlot is a major player. It is very young and will last for at least 10 years. Not cheap at $49, but then many of life's pleasures have become more dear. 14.1% alcohol........93 with room for escalation in future bottles.

Cool. Nice review. Gosh, I better head to the store now....

Not cheap, but my favorite 2001 Merlot by far for this vintage. I can't wait to see how this stacks up to the 2001 Pahlmeyer Merlot which is far more expensive...

After reading this I stopped by my favorite wine store in Austin, TX for another bottle. Last trip 2 weeks ago they had 10 left. ALL GONE!

Bummer, someone cleaned them out. I settled for a 2001 Shafer Merlot. 91 pts.

I liked this wine a lot when I had it on New Year's Eve -- though not as much as some others, it seems. I think I gave this 91.5 points now and believed it would get better with a few years bottle age. I don't recall much, specifically, but I recall thinking this much more Bordeaux-like than Palomas, and a little bit more austere. Personally, I'd take the 2001 Paloma -- which I find significantly more open -- over this, but this is the second best 2001 Merlot I've tried.

a

This is easily one of the best Merlot's that I've had the pleasure of drinking. On the nose it was huge blackberry and black cherry mixed with toasty mocha. The mouth feel was huge, definitely not a wine for the faint of heart...highly extracted..Blackberry liquor mixed with liquid caramel and a 30+ sec finish
93+

I had this last night with Emottram and Rigga. This is the first Merlot that I have ever had. I LOVED this wine. I was amazed by this wine. We decanted this for about 2 hours before the first sip and drank over the course of the next 1 1/2 hours. This is a big wine, and it make me think of a big aussie. but this was very round and balanced with loads of dark fruit, caramel, sweet spices and a long long finish. BrandO says "94+ points based on just enjoyment of this wine, not against other Merlot's"

As I stated, this particular wine in this particular vintage is a major player. Expect it high up in the top 100 list for this year.

Dick

I assume you mean your own top 100. It already made Wine Spectator's top 100 for 2003. ( #92 to be exact), but I agree with you that it is a real winner of a Merlot. Almost Cab-like. I have 4 bottles left from a case. I may have to find more.

Indeed, I increased my bottle total of this gem to 14 yesterday after having another bottle and being quite impressed. I also opened a bottle of the Pride Merlot 2000 (my last one) for comparison, and there is no doubt that the 2001 is a smoother, richer, better integrated product, even though the 2000 was really quite good.

Dick

My 2000's have lost their fruit... all wood!!

Already? Geez........I'm glad that last bottle was my last.

Dick

Pride Merlot absolutely rocks. Delicious, juicy and nicely structured. The 2001 is a very nice wine, and I agree that the 2000 is not quite at the same level. The 1999 is quite delicious--I'm afraid to drink up my last bottle.

• 2001 Pride Mountain Merlot [Spring Mountain District, Napa/Sonoma, California, USA] 93 pts. (6/12/2003)
  Wow, this is some juicy stuff! Spicy nose with a touch of coffee and brown sugar. On the palate this has an amazingly soft, supple entry with beautiful primary fruit. With time there is a really impressive depth to this wine, nice spiciness, and some surprisingly complexity for such a young fruit bomb. On the impressively long finish there are some mildly searing tannins and a touch of wood. Simply great young Merlot! (+1 day) Still going strong on day 2, this thing doesn't feel like it has aged a minute. This has an amazing brown-sugar element, and a little more Merlot character is peeking out now. I love Pride!
  
• 2000 Pride Mountain Merlot [Spring Mountain District, Napa/Sonoma, California, USA] 88 pts. (11/13/2003)
  After reading Jason's tasting note I was worried, but my bottle bore very little resemblance to his. Brown sugar, violet, blackberry, vanilla, and creamy oak highlight a very nice nose. There is a bare hint of herbal edginess, but that is a feature. This has a very sweet, almost candied entry, definite Pride. The mid-palate turns towards bitter chocolate and gets a bit choppy, disjointed and astringent. The finish is medium length with some of the bitter chocolate following. This is not as smooth and terrific as most Pride offerings, but it is still a darned nice Merlot, quite enjoyable.
  
• 1999 Pride Mountain Merlot [Spring Mountain District, Napa/Sonoma, California, USA] 90 pts. (2/24/2003)
  Right out of the bottle the nose was singing, and all four of us (Eric, Suzi, Mom and Bob) at the table smelled the beautiful bouquet right as the wine was poured. Deep, plummy notes, young oak, spiciness, and even some herbal notes along with cocoa. Extremely alluring. On the palate this showed nice sweetness and purity and excellent balance of acid/tannin/fruit. As could be expected for a young wine of this ilk, the finish was tight for about 30 minutes before starting to lengthen out. With filet mignon this was luscious. I would give it 90-91 points, and certainly it was a great wine. However, this bottle perhaps wowed me a tiny bit less than one I had in November.

Posted from CellarTracker!

Drinking very well now with a little bit of air. 92 points.

I agree. Give it an hour or so in the decanter and it is quite nice. 93+ and a notch or so bettter than the 2002.

One of these days I want to compare this side by side to the Paloma. Both are excelent wines. I think the Pride is a little better though.

I too thought the `01 Pride Merlot was better than the `01 Paloma. I did the `01 Pride Merlot side by side to the `01 Foley Claret and most people would not want to know what those in attendence thought...... .......to each his own.

Opened a bottle of this tonight. Drinking pretty much like it was last time I had it back in March. Rich in fruit with a firm tannin backbone. Long on the finish showing deep flavors of black currants, raspberry, with some bakers chocolate.

Had this again last night. Wow, this wine is getting better with a little age. The dark chocolate flavors are really growing, the heavy toast from the barrels has integrated perfectly with the fruits. Yummilicious.

I'm glad to see more wines achieving the status of Yummilicious, given my initial usage of that descriptor from a BAWE tasting at Skwid's.