Crossings Merlot 2009 - Historic and Very Nice! (PA)

Tom and Christine Carroll and their son Tom Jr. own Crossings Vineyards at Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania. From the very start, this was meant to be a showplace, state of the art, winery in the Bucks County area of Pennsylvania along the banks of the Delaware. The stone buildings, the grounds, and the equipment have always been top notch. It inspired awe from the very beginning.


The house pictured on Crossing Vineyards and Winery’s label is known as The David Barton Taylor House.

David Barton Taylor was the son of Benjamin Taylor, who participated in George Washington’s historic crossing of the Delaware on Christmas night in 1776. The exact age of the David Barton Taylor House is not known. Upper Makefield tax records refer to “a log house and barn” on the tract in 1795. On December 29, 1823, an advertisement appeared in The Correspondent and Farmer’s Advertiser. A “ comfortable Dwelling-house” is offered for sale, as well as “a good stone Barn and Wagon-House, nearly new, with other out-buildings.” The David Barton Taylor House was added to the Bucks Country Registry of Historic Places in 1983.

Tom Carroll Jr. is the wine maker. A graduate of Vassar, he immersed himself in the California wine industry for three years before returning east to start something truly unique. Today, he makes subtle, soft, approachable reds, and brilliant whites that make Crossings a standout producer in the Pennsylvania wine scene.

This 2009 Merlot was fantastic. The nose and palate are rewarded with the huge presence of Bing cherries as promised, along with plum and a hint of raspberry. Vanilla and spice also come forward. The wine is aged in oak. Nice acidity keeps the fruit alive, and the substantial tannins combine nicely to give this wine a nice, long finish. Very, very nice.