We drink a lot of Peay wines in our household
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Lioco is another one to put on your list. They definitely produce a lighter style of pinot similar to some Burgundies, and work with a lot of single-vineyard sites in Santa Cruz Mtns & Sonoma Coast. They also tend to be a bit more affordable than Rhys or Ceritas (who are also great).
Big Table Farms’ Cattrall Brothers - the one with the truck - is one of my go-to wines in this category.
Cool, high-elevation vineyard and a minimalist touch in the cellar. Low alcohol (2018 came in at 12.1%), beautiful translucent ruby, restrained and delicate red pinot fruit on the palette.
I’ve tricked many burg lovers with this one. 
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One of my go-to’s for lighter local reds is Angela Osborne’s wines (grenache), and the Folded Hills reds she makes (grenache, syrah, autumn red) are also on the leaner and mineral side. Think opposite of SQN, Andremily, Alban…
Plenty of quality Burgundy for $40-60/bottle. Just gotta look around, don’t be a label chaser.
Second vote for Lioco. Bang for buck, they’re hard to beat. Ceritas, as has been mentioned, very good, but a little pricey. I would suggest two Santa Barbara wineries, too: Tyler and Dragonette. Both make amazing PN’s in a more restrained style.
In Oregon board member Goodfellow makes some very lean and nice PN’s. Patricia Green is another one from there (also a board member), although they are a little more accessible young compared to the Goodfellows, I find. Kelley Fox is another in this vein. And honestly, I know they’re big outfit and perhaps not cool, but I’ve never had a bad King Estates - they are always solid.
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Just to expand a little bit on the above. The 2018 Heritage No. 12 Whistling Ridge is a bit less crunchy, but the Block bottlings from Whistling Ridge definitely lean more that way. As do most of our 2017s, which is a vintage that leans a bit more to the Old World style, and we tend to lean that way in most vintages anyway.
Also, add me to the Lioco list. Nice people and excellent wines, thank you Adam. A
I drank a Cameron Abbey Ridge at a restaurant about 20 years ago, thought it was one of the best things I’ve ever had. Found some in wine shops for a few years after but lost track.
Just saw an offer on Benchmark for first time and made me think of them. Has anyone kept up with Cameron? Thoughts?
Mike
Not sure this is true in Oregon.
I hit Vinopolis for Burgundy semi-regularly and not much is less than $70.
What there is seems to fall into the quality of Burgundy that I consider decent wine, but not why I buy Burgundy. I’m not a label chaser either, I have found plenty of off the beaten path producers that make lovely wines. But it feels like even wines like Fixin, Santenay, and Mercurey are more expensive and harder to find. A lot of the bottlings $40-60 are more generic bottlings that aren’t bad but don’t teach me much.
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Don’t agree totally with your first sentence but I am in 100% agreement with your 2nd. I like, buy and drink lots of California pinot and Littorai absolutely rises above the pack in my opinion.
I think of Burgundy and American pinot noir as ‘unrelated.’
I like each differently.
Someone already mentioned Ceritas and Domaine De La Cote and I’d agree they lean toward the gap between the two, but not all that far in terms of overlap. I can’t think of a good example of any pinot that truly bridges the gap.
Beaux Frere and Calera would make my list as being in the same family as the two previously mentioned, but none would ever be confused for Burgundy.
I am sure I am overlooking something and will chime in in agreement when other people mention them!
Calera, Central Coast Pinot Noir (declassified Bien Nacido, Gary’s Vineyard, Solomon Hills). $25 retail. Often a 90-92+ point scored wine from a very reputable producer who fashions themselves as Burgundy in California. ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
I think I kind of know where you’re coming from in your question.
SUBSTITUTE (California pinot that, while not a substitute for Burgundy or identical to it, tends to appeal to Burgundy enthusiasts and/or aims for more similar profiles):
Arcadian (Burgundian California pinot before it became cool, very ageworthy)
Kutch (at $39, the Sonoma Coast bottling is tremendous value, but all their lineup is well priced - don’t miss the Chardonnay either)
Rhys, but more the Santa Cruz Mountains bottlings (you should really start trying some of them to see what you think - also don’t miss the Chardonnay)
Model Farm
Clos Saron
Tyler
Littorai
Arnot Roberts
Ceritas
Copain
Au Bon Climat
COMPLEMENT:
Sea Smoke
Dehlinger
Williams Selyem
Mount Eden (and their lower priced bottling Domaine Eden)
Joseph Swan
Scherrer
Chanin
It sounds like you’re amassing pinots from just a few expensive producers. I might suggest broadening out and trying more new things - there are so many good pinots out reflecting different styles, winemakers, and terroir.
Better still, if you have some wine drinking friends where you can set up some tastings so you can try a bunch of wines side by side, or access to any retailers which (post Covid at least) hold tasting events, that’s the best and fastest way to learn. It’s hard to learn buying bottle by bottle.
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Peay, Calera, for Oregon, in addition to those named, Patricia Greene Cellars deserves a mention. Great wines up and down the range on the lower end are great value.
I personally like Rochioli when I am in the mood, but it’s kind of a different beast, no?
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Hard for me to answer as I am newer to drinking better quality wine and have almost no experience with 'Burg. So why am I posting? Because I do enjoy OR Pinots especially from some of the producers mentioned. But one of my favorites comes from Austria - the Blaufrankisch grape. For ~$30USD a bottle of Moric Blaufrankisch drinks extremely well right out of the bottle or even with some age. I have found consistently with vintages from 2014, 2016 and 2018. I have a few single vineyard designations from 2012 and 2015 but have yet to open those - though did try 2016 Alte Reben at a tasting.
So I cannot comment on how it relates to 'Burgs though I’ve read some people taste some similarities, but I can say with confidence that someone who enjoys OR PN’s that I really enjoy Moric’s Blaufrankisch.
You mean Duckhorn ?
I find Aubert and Rochioli too big and ripe to be in the same conversation as Burgundy. I was on Rochioli list for a few years and stopped buying due to style, price, changing palate preferences, and acquisition of more knowledge (I now firmly believe they are incapable of ever turning into something along the lines of what I’m looking for) I’ve only had a couple Auberts, and found both too big/ripe for my preferences.
Rhys is damn good, but I’m getting increasingly confident in my opinion that they are not built to age, and they are not a reasonable Burgundy substitute.
That having been said, I have one barely-helpful response: Arcadian. This is barely-helpful because they went out of business recently, so you’ll have to source from the secondary market.
I’m sure there are tons of producers I haven’t tried that could be what you’re looking for; I’ll be reading the thread with interest to see what others have to say in that regard.
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Meaning you think they should be drunk by what age generally? Some recent threads have suggested they shouldn’t be drunk before 7 or 8 years of bottle age. Not sure I’ve seen much feedback on 20+ year bottles.
The oldest Rhys I’ve tried was only a 2013, so asking out of curiosity.
Insert eye roll… 
I’d imagine the grapes from Bien Nacido, Gary’s and Solomon hold their own, regardless of cooperate name.
I agree with Brian G. regarding Rochioli and disagree regarding Rhys (age). My favs of Rhys is with age. Same with Littorai (not mentioned by Brian). But my opinion is only that…and I appreciate that Brian has dialed in to what works for him…