2021 Embroidery Pinot Noir Monterey County 750 ml

At one of our recent Wine Access tasting panels, the Embroidery Pinot won unanimous approval quicker than any other wine we tasted that day. 

It’s not hard to see why. Dark ruby in color, showing a nose full of warm berries and cherries accented by cinnamon and wildflowers, plus a ripe and juicy palate with a voluminous finish, it’s a wine that shows why California’s Central Coast is ground zero for phenomenal Pinot Noir value.

Great Pinot doesn’t come easy. The grape is notoriously difficult to farm. Yields are low and demand high, giving wineries almost no choice but to ratchet up their prices—something every Pinot lover has surely noticed.

That’s where the genius of Embroidery vintner Trevor Sheehan—who Wine Access members know for his outstanding Technique and GAIT wines—comes in. Sheehan is an elite dealmaker, possessing one of the greatest rosters of vineyard contacts in California, not to mention an ability to scout overperforming, under-the-radar vineyards. Wine Enthusiast showered his latest set of releases with praise.

Our relationship with Trevor goes back to the days when he was a collector and trader of fine French wines while several of us were working restaurant floors as sommeliers. We’ve watched as he’s assembled a deep network of growers, and this wine—crafted from sustainably farmed Dijon clones grown in sandy soils—is the product of deals veiled in silence and sealed with handshakes.  

This bottling is emblematic of the San Bernabe sub-AVA of Monterey, a region exposed to ocean fogs and brisk marine breezes that funnel down from Monterey Bay through the Salinas Valley. Sheehan took prime fruit from this underrated appellation and made a Pinot of high-toned precision and depth.