National Pinot Noir Day Set

André Tchelistcheff: “God made Cabernet Sauvignon, Whereas the Devil made Pinot Noir.”

No two Pinot Noir lovers are alike, but all lovers of Pinot Noir share the same lucky experience of enjoying the finest wine the world has to offer. No grape variety holds a candle to Pinot Noir. It is the hardest grape to cultivate, and the most difficult wine to make. But Pinot is more food-friendly thanks to the grape’s natural, fresh acidity, and silky tannins. Pure examples shine with the organoleptic treasures of local terroir—be it a wine from Burgundy, Central Otago, or our own Western Shores. In celebration of National Pinot Noir Day, we’ve gathered together six great bottles from our favorite American growing regions. Get that corkscrew ready.

Pinot Noir Set Includes:

2016 Scribe Estate Sonoma Valley Pinot Noir

Scribe has graced glossy magazine spreads in Travel + Leisure (“game-changing”), Food & Wine, GQ (“The Coolest Hundred Acres in Wine Country”) and made countless appearances on wine lists at the Bay Area’s best restaurants from Chez Panisse to The Restaurant at Meadowood. If you’re within driving distance, don’t miss a trip to this winery. If you’re not, a glass of this Pinot is the next closest thing, blending earthy honesty with high-toned, red-fruit sophistication. An irresistible dose of the Sonoma good life.

2016 Karo-Kann Pinot Noir Los Carneros Napa

An NDA has barred us from naming any names, but the winery, whose wines have been poured in many of San Francisco and New York’s best restaurants, and whose attention to detail and knowledge of terroir is second to none in Carneros, lost several lucrative wine list placements after the short 2015 crop left them with little supply. In 2016, things were much more plentiful, and the winery found itself with more Pinot than it was able to sell without all of its prior placements. Their first call went to Wine Access.

2014 Domaine de La Cote Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills

Rajat Parr, author, sommelier and one of America’s most famous vignerons, and Sashi Moorman, the ingenious winemaker formerly of Stolpman Vineyards, are producing some of the purest, terroir-driven wines of Sta. Rita Hills—arguable the best American AVA for Pinot Noir. Rajat has spent more time in the cellars of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti with Aubert de Villaine that almost anyone, and what he’s learned, he’s applied to La Cote. This 2014 is a world-class, truly special Pinot, infused with mouthwatering aromas of dark red cherry fruits, tinged with a gorgeous mineral smokiness, only possible thanks to the diatomaceous white clay, pure silica soils of their estate vineyards.

2015 Winter's Hill Pinot Noir Watershed Dundee Hills Oregon

Just 35 acres of vines are surrounded by almost 115 acres of fir and oak forests. In Wine Spectator’s 95-point vintage, this is as close as the New World comes to Old World flavor, structure, and sophistication with generous Bing cherry notes leading to a mid-palate of cherry compote, baking spice, and hints of crushed red floral notes. Gorgeous tea-scented fruit tannin is buttressed by mouthwatering acidity, which cleanses the palate sip after sip.

2015 Solena Estate Grand Cuvee Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 

For value Oregon Pinot Noir, nothing holds a candle to Laurent Montalieu’s opulent Grande Cuvée from Soléna Estate, which landed at #38 on the 2014 Wine Spectator Top 100 list. No one who’s followed Laurent’s rise from Bordeaux-educated student to Willamette Valley sage could claim to be surprised. Montalieu reached new heights in Oregon’s much-anticipated 2015 vintage.  Rich, juicy, and precise on the attack, filled with crushed-black-fruit preserves and black cherries that give way to savory spice and bramble, tinged with leather and anise.

2014 Bernardus Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir

Bernardus stands toe-to-toe with the full-throttle Pinots of Kosta Browne, ROAR, and Siduri. Kosta Browne’s 2014 Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir will set you back $104, but this 2014 Bernardus boasts the same-appellation provenance, a Burgundy expert, and homegrown winemaker, and a very modest price. We call it bottled proof of the stellar conditions that graced California’s Golden Coast in the 2014 season, inspiring Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate to give it an “outstanding” highest-in-the-decade 93 points.