One of my colleagues asked me to recommend some good, fairly readily available Pinot noirs in the $15-20 range. Before I slapped him, tossed my head back haughtily and said, “I don’t drink that peasant swill!” I said I would check and give him some suggestions.
He tends towards RRV ripeness, but I’d love to swing him a little leaner. I know a hundred in the $30-40 range but couldn’t really think of much cheaper. Help!
International options might be, Ritual (Chile) Indomita Duette (Chile), Iona Mr. P (SA), and Wanaka Road (NZ). More readily available domestic pinot options might be Au Bon Climat’s Santa Barbara Pinot, Rickshaw, Banshee (might be slightly over $20) and A to Z. You may also be able to find Evesham Wood at that price, but it’s less likely.
Thirded for ABC, and for that matter any of JC’s labels. If you’re local-ish, join the wine club and stock up at the spring/fall open house. I forget but I think I got 25% off buying 2+ cases last spring and that included some Isabelle and Knox that both worked out to low 30s/bottle IIRC.
Yea there are better Pinots out there but his are just so damn consistent and even the lesser ones are decent.
With the 2012 and 2013 vintages being so good - there is a ton of good Pinot Noir out there being discounted. From both Oregon and California.
AU BON CLIMAT - 2014 is current vintage, a little tight but nice fruit and will be really good in a couple months. In the $20 - $22 range.
HAHN - Their regular bottling is around $12-$14 and really good, their SLH from 2012 and 2013 are terrific and close to $20.00 - and these can be found everywhere.
CASTLE ROCK - They bottle about 6-8 Pinots a year from various sites - and at least 1-2 every year are pretty good - just have to go through them to see - and they are in the $12 range.
FOSSIL POINT - A new label from Edna Valley, should be pretty readily available nationally. The '13 is really good and around $16 a bottle.
GRAYSON CELLARS - Another really consistent label, in the $13-$14 range and pretty as hell.
Siduri Sonoma County. And look at Brian Loring’s post above…Loring Wine Company is always great value and sounds like there’s a $20ish or lower option coming.
If you are not stuck on CA only I just had the following at a tasting at my local wine shop: Vincent Girardin Bourgogne Rouge Cuvee Saint-Vincent 2013. I really liked this and I’m not a big Pinot drinker. I think at case prices you can definitely get it under $20, particularly if you are looking to expose your friend to other styles.