2016 Fog Crest Vineyard Pinot Noir Laguna West Russian River Valley 750 ml

We tasted thousands of great wines recently at the San Francisco International Wine Competition, but only one producer stood out as the best of the bunch: Fog Crest. We weren’t alone in our love of their bountiful reds, which gush with juicy red and black fruit, flowers, and an entire garden’s worth of herbs: 60 judges, led by industry legends Steven Spurrier and Andy Dias Blue, voted one of Fog Crest’s Pinots Wine of the Year.

Despite every sommelier clamoring for an allocation, we locked in an exclusive on the 2016 Fog Crest Laguna West Pinot Noir—a gold medal winner—before any of them, and at a great price for high-end Russian River Valley Pinot Noir in general, and especially for one that just won over the critics assessing the best of the best at America’s premier wine competition.

Equally accomplished Pinots from Russian River Valley typically cost a lot more, too. Compared to its competition (including wines from top producers like Kosta Browne, Ramey, and Apriori) the value here is spectacular.

Located to the north of Sebastopol, Fog Crest Vineyard has been a driving force in Russian River Valley since it was founded in 1998. The southeast exposure allows morning sun to counterbalance the famous fog of the AVA that blankets the best vineyards. Add to that the ancient sandstone ridge that the vineyard is planted on, which allows the soils to drain as effectively as they do in the best parts of Burgundy, and you have the recipe for wines of concentration and generosity in equal measure.

That combination affords each and every grape the chance to ripen fully throughout the growing season without being overly stressed by too much cold or heat. The tension inherent in those conditions can be felt in the energy of this great Pinot, which James Suckling praised as “luxuriant [and] seductive.”

French-born winemaker Jérôme Chéry has translated this spectacular land into a Pinot that should cost way more than it does. He’s crafted wine in the Loire Valley, Provence, Languedoc, and Australia, but made his name in the United States while working in St. Helena at Newton, and as Director of Winemaking at Saintsbury, in Los Carneros. Fog Crest snapped him up in 2014, and ever since, they’ve been on an upward trajectory.

The 2016 Fog Crest Vineyard Pinot Noir Laguna West Russian River Valley is a new peak. We almost lost this wine as the other sommeliers were pleading their case for it. But Fog Crest knew that Wine Access members wouldn’t just love it, but also appreciate what makes it so special. Take advantage of this exclusive offer while we still have it. Award-winning Pinots like this one don’t tend to last for very long here. And certainly not at these prices.