Containing 4% Cabernet Sauvignon, the deep garnet-purple colored 2017 Merlot offers up pronounced notes of plum preserves, baked blackberries and black forest cake with suggestions of baking spices, licorice and dark chocolate. Full-bodied, rich and velvety textured, the palate is laden with dark fruit and spice layers, beautifully defined by a refreshing line, finishing with great persistence. 4,404 cases produced.

Pride’s 2017 edition is a serious, solidly structured Merlot that takes a moment or two in fully opening up, but, when it does, reveals lots of deep and well-defined dark fruit lightly overlain by creamy oak and accented with subtle touches of briar and forest floor. Already fairly complex for a wine as young as it is, it exhibits fine concentration and fruity muscle without erring to sinewy toughness, but its best clearly lies ahead and it warrants a stay of three to five years in the cellar lest it be drunk up in advance of reaching its very considerable best.

The 2017 Merlot shows all the natural richness and intensity of the year, but also has just enough freshness to keep things in check. Cedar, tobacco, dried flower and spice notes add nuance to a Merlot that very nicely balances richness with savory complexity. This is very nicely done, especially for the year.

-- Antonio Galloni

The 2017 Merlot is a juicy, easy-drinking effort that does well in the vintage. Ripe black cherries, mulberries, white flowers, and a touch of damp earth emerges from this Pomerol look-alike. It's medium-bodied and has sweet tannins and a balanced, already delicious style. Drink it over the coming decade.