First stop - Merry Edwards. Our appointment was at 9:30 but somehow I got it mixed up and thought it was at 9am, so we were a bit early. Good thing, knowing what happens later. While we were waiting,
we took a look at the bottle truck which was there bottling some Chardonnay for Merry. They only do a Chardonnay every other year if that, so this was definitely unique. Merry Edwards was very special with some of the best Pinot Noirs I have ever had. Two bottles will be had today. We asked if Merry could sign them, which she did. We thought she'd be too busy to come down and sign them, so they took them up to her. After she signed them, she actually came to the room and signed our shirts. Take a look at Travis with his biggest grin. He was sooo happy.Next was Dutton Goldfield. Most of their Pinot Noirs were sold out, so we got to taste some other varietals. Their Rued Chardonnay was amazing, tasting of strong carmel. We bought this last year and it rated a 96 from Wine Enthusiast. This vintage is not yet rated but I'm sure it will be a good one. Susie picked one up too.
After that we went up to Dutton Estate. (Dutton Estate and Dutton Goldfield are owned by 2 Dutton brothers who own a lot of acres in the valley.) Dutton Estate also makes some Sauvignon Blanc for Merry Edwards. They own the same vineyards but they make their wine their own way. From years past, we remember their Pinot Noirs are to die for. This is still tru
e this year. Things got busy in the tasting room and we were greeted by Tracy Dutton, wife of the owner. We were told later that Tracy hadn't been in the tasting room for over a year and a half. She opened several wines that weren't on the tasting menu (with larger pours) saying jokingly that "I keep trying to get fired but no one will fire me". Anyway, she was more than gracious and the wines were amazing. We had a hard time choosing as did Phil and Traci who decided to join their wine club (doh!). We picked up 2 bottles of different vintages of Thomas Pinots and went on our way. By this time, we were now running late for our next appointment despite showing up more than 30 minutes early. Oh well, we had a great time!
Next was Williams Selyem. Travis and I are wine club members and were excited to see their brand new tasting room for the first time. We tried 4 wines from prior releases that they had held back and took a tour of the vineyard. The wines were good but as we were wine club members we didn't pick up any as we already owned what we were tasting.
Next was Gary Farrell. We were very late at this point, but Brian was very gracious.
We started with some Sauv Blanc and took a tour of the vineyard. The Pinots were amazing, which is why we joined the club, but as it was the end of the day I think our palettes were a bit tired. Travis picked up a bottle from the library and we were on our way to Napa - 90 minute drive.It was late in the day so we stopped by a pizza place and had some pie and called it a night.
Total Current Wineries 19, Tastings: 145
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