Best US Pinot for $30 or under

Going to my brother-in-law’s house for Thanksgiving. About 20 people and he wants me to bring a case of US Pinot. I had other ideas (Gamay, Trouseau, Grenache, etc.), but since he is the host, I will bring him what he wants. A few thoughts were Melville Estate (K&L has it for $30) or Hitching Post Hometown. Needs to be something I can readily order and ship. Any ideas would be great.

Id consider less fruit forward pinot from Oregon that would be less likely to overwhelm your dinner

Sandler still has his 6 pack offer up.

No brainer.

http://m.sandlerwine.com/product/May-2019-Sandler-6-Pack?pageID=8B10FA74-C1B9-C644-0339-2143DF2E1D4D&sortBy=DisplayOrder&

I don’t like getting into “best” but I think Vincent consistently over delivers at that price point. Terrific wines and they’ll be appreciated by a wide spectrum of wine drinkers.

Time is getting short, but if you watch WTSO they will almost certainly have a 90 point average rating PN for $20 or less in the coming weeks. Don’t jump before checking, because not all the offerings are winners. Most are a pass, but they list a lot of wines that are perfect for somewhat discerning, but not highly selective crowds.
One they offered today, a 2014 Heliotrope, would do fine at $15. One plus for their wines is that they are often clearance wines, and thus already have some age in the bottle.
If your BIL’s tastes are more to California style, WSTO has had Loring PNs a few times recently.

PS, you could do a lot worse than Melville Estate for the price. Highly dependable if you like the style.

You beat me too it.

I was gonna suggest Sandler or Vincent as well. Can’t go wrong with either.

Tom,

Really depends upon the style of pinot you like - and what you want to ‘show off’. A bit tough to come up with specific suggestions until that is better understood - but both the Hitching Post and Melville wines are well made for that $$$. I might also suggest the Fess Parker Sta Rita Hills appellation pinots, the Siduri appellation pinots, Sandler as mentioned above, even the base level Sanford from this area.

Good luck, my friend . . .

Cheers!

If bringing a case I would do 2 or 3 different ones, maybe one in the Melville style and one from Oregon (like a Patricia Green or Cameron) which will show different expressions of pinot. If adding another pinot to the mix, would add something from Northern Cal or even a French Burgundy Village or Burgogne.

sandler or wilde farm

Husch Anderson Valley bottling for $25. Very solid.

I would mixed up so you can taste some different styles and can pick some cheaper $20 and some more expensive around $40.

Siduri has some good options, Santa Rita Hills, Flowers, Drouhin, Sojourn maybe for Sonoma can be found at TW.

Cristom’s 2014 Estate Pinot Noir was offered on Wineaccess yesterday for $25 per bottle on case purchases. Unfortunately, it sold out quickly.

And I would agree with Mike’s suggestion and try a couple of different Pinot’s versus one case of the same wine.

And I would agree with Peter’s suggestion regarding WTSO. You might stumble upon a few wines with a couple of years on them at an attractive price.

And you can’t go wrong with the many Oregon producers mentioned in previous threads including Vincent, Patty Green, Cameron mentioned in this thread.

James

According to Wine Spectator’s Top 100 (I know how we all feel about that), the Colene Clemens Dopp Creek at $28/btl should be in this conversation. The 2015 was the #7 wine in the Top 100 last year, and the 2017 got 93 pts (2016 got 92). Regardless of what we think of Spectator or numerical ratings, this is a great wine for the price.

Full Disclosure: My wife works at Colene Clemens.

Try Talbott, Kali Hart Estate. Very reasonably priced. It has received 90 points from Josh Reynolds the last couple of years. Its our go to house pinot.

I’d suggest Kelley Fox or Arterberry-Maresh from K&L.

Thanks everyone

I only ever tried one A-M bottling, the 2016 A-M “Old Vines”.

It was the gentlest, lightest-bodied American PN I’ve ever crossed paths with - it didn’t amount to much more than a simple rose of Pinot Noir - almost like an American Rene Engel [without quite as much acidity].

Unfortunately, we never saw it for anywhere close to $30.

It looks as though K&L has just a basic 2017 A-M PN for $26.99 - what would it look & taste like?

PS: Jim Cowan has a couple of older PNs [2012 & 2013] on his website, for less than $30 - I wonder what they look & taste like?

Both Cellar Tracker and Vivino seem to like the 2012.

Rivers-Marie Sonoma Coast? Right around your price, I think.

For family gatherings where I didn’t want to bring out my good stuff, I’ve had good luck with Taft PN from Sonoma.