An $80 Russian River Pinot—for nowhere near that
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2018 Chronicle Pinot Noir Russian River Valley 750 ml
Retail: $80 | ||
| $40 | 50% off | per bottle |
- Curated by unrivaled experts
- Choose your delivery date
- Temperature controlled shipping options
- Get credited back if a wine fails to impress
Hat Tip to the Kid
The Kid is one of our newer Napa Valley acquaintances, a young guy we’ve gotten to know just in the last year. A tall, garrulous, ballcap-wearing former finance guy who ditched the office world for the wine life, the first thing he told us was that he’s been a member for years—something we verified the morning after we met him. He might have made a slightly cocky first impression, but it’s safe to say we liked him from the start.
Like half the people in Napa, The Kid tends to talk up his wine country connections, but we noticed that the big names he drops are peppered with a few obscure ones. That shows an impressive level of knowledge and dedication, which made us think that he might deliver on his promise: to one day bring us “something big.”
For months, nothing. But then The Kid socked a massive homer on his first at-bat, by tipping us off to the 2018 Chronicle Russian River Pinot Noir—a deal for the ages.
“2018 vintage,” he said as he poured. “About a year before I moved out here, but I know how great it was. Top-flight winemaker—maybe the top, when it comes to Pinot—but that’s gotta stay on the DL.”
We could barely pay attention to those details as we swirled and sniffed: Bountiful cherry and rose aromas, with a beautiful hint of Kola nut and spice. TONS of plush and juicy Russian River red fruit on the palate, which is built on super-silky tannins perfectly softened by five years in the bottle. It was top-flight Pinot all the way—something big, just like he’d promised—and our minds were made up.