Pestoni Family, Howell Mountain Merlot
Pestoni Family, Howell Mountain Merlot

Pestoni Family, Howell Mountain Merlot

California / Napa Valley, United States 2013 (750mL)
Regular price$54.00
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Pestoni Family, Howell Mountain Merlot

Although the Pestonis are nestled on the valley floor, one must look skyward to locate the origin of this special library release. Roughly 2,000 feet up Howell Mountain, the “Three Tears Vineyard” is home to just three acres of Merlot, the sole source of today’s wine. After picking and twice-sorting the fruit, the grapes were de-stemmed and transferred into stainless steel for fermentation. Upon completion, the resulting wine matured in high-quality French oak barrels, 65% new, for 20 months. Only a few hundred cases were originally produced. This small parcel has spent its entire life slumbering in their cellar. 


As compared to the Cabernet, Pestoni’s 2013 Merlot is a “softer” mountain wine with superbly ripe, juicy fruit shining throughout. After 30 minutes in a decanter, one can expect opulent aromas of red and black plum, kirsch, strawberry coulis, black raspberry, cacao, bay leaf, shaved cedar, and wild mint. The palate is full-bodied, lush, and inviting with warm brambly fruits and faint stony minerality that gives it more structure and profundity than Merlot grown on the valley floor. At nine years old, it’s incredibly youthful and, although delicious, I think this wine won’t reach its gustatory peak for another 2-3 years. Enjoy!



Pestoni Family, Howell Mountain Merlot
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United States

Washington

Columbia Valley

Like many Washington wines, the “Columbia Valley” indication only tells part of the story: Columbia Valley covers a huge swath of Central
Washington, within which are a wide array of smaller AVAs (appellations).

Oregon

Willamette Valley

Oregon’s Willamette Valley has become an elite winegrowing zone in record time. Pioneering vintner David Lett, of The Eyrie Vineyard, planted the first Pinot Noir in the region in 1965, soon to be followed by a cadre of forward-thinking growers who (correctly) saw their wines as America’s answer to French
Burgundies. Today, the Willamette
Valley is indeed compared favorably to Burgundy, Pinot Noir’s spiritual home. And while Pinot Noir accounts for 64% of Oregon’s vineyard plantings, there are cool-climate whites that must not be missed.

California

Santa Barbara

Among the unique features of Santa Barbara County appellations like Ballard Canyon (a sub-zone of the Santa Ynez Valley AVA), is that it has a cool, Pacific-influenced climate juxtaposed with the intense luminosity of a southerly
latitude (the 34th parallel). Ballard Canyon has a more north-south orientation compared to most Santa Barbara AVAs, with soils of sandy
clay/loam and limestone.

California

Paso Robles

Situated at an elevation of 1,600 feet, it is rooted in soils of sandy loam and falls within the Highlands District of the Paso Robles AVA.

New York

North Fork

Wine growers and producers on Long Island’s North Fork have traditionally compared their terroir to that of Bordeaux and have focused on French varieties such as Cabernet Franc and Merlot.

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