2021 Bernardus Winery Pinot Noir Monterey County 750 ml

“Great big flavor, lovely lasting finish. Dang, I love Bernardus!” Wine Access members have long bestowed five-star raves like that because Bernardus ALWAYS delivers the goods—and the 2021 Monterey Pinot shows them at their very best. 

Bernardus' founder, the late Ben Pon, set out to rival the best of Bordeaux, but he was wise when he entrusted winemaking duties to Burgundy-trained Dean De Korth. The Monterey native attended the Université de Bourgogne in Dijon, then honed his winemaking skills with stints at legendary producers Leflaive, Lafon, and Morey. He returned home focused on replicating Burgundian quality and elegance on California’s coast. 

De Korth has proven that it doesn’t take a big-name vineyard to make a big-time impact. In 2021, he blended grapes from two locales in Arroyo Seco: Griva, a gravelly favorite of Morgan and other luminaries, and Mission Ranch, the first vineyard in the AVA, planted in 1961. 

Granite soils and Pacific influence collide in this glistening ruby wine, producing a fresh, fruity, distinctly Californian Pinot. De Korth raises this wine in a mix of older French barrels and 30-year-old French oak tanks so that there’s nothing to interfere with the brilliant, crystalline red fruit that flows through a sappy, satisfying finish.

De Korth just retired this past fall, after turning Bernardus into a California powerhouse, and not just because of connections that give him his pick of fruit from the area’s priciest grapes. Take it from us: Bernardus stands toe-to-toe with the best of California’s Central Coast—and when it comes to value, nothing tops their Monterey County bottling.