Try some of the 2021s that have just become available.
Snag these Pinot Noir beauties from California and Oregon while you can! After the fires and subsequent smoke-tainted wines, the 2020 vintage was small, with producers only making wines they were sure were unaffected.
With 2020’s in short supply, the 2021 vintage is making a splash. Early reports suggest that 2021 is “one of concentration and structure” (Wine Spectator) built for the cellar.
Featured Wines:
- 2021 Lingua Franca AVNI Pinot Noir Willamette Valley
- 2021 Arterberry Maresh Pinot Noir Dundee Hills, OR
- 2021 Paul Lato Pinot Noir ‘Matinee’ Sta Barbara
- 2021 Roar Pinot Noir Sta Lucia Highlands
- 2021 Maybach Pinot Noir ‘Irmgard’
The Baudana family have tended to the Cerretta and Baudana Cru’s in Barolo for over 30 years! They are one of the oldest families in the Serralunga d’alba region of Barolo. In 2003, the Baudana family, realizing that they had no children and no heirs, needed to find a steward to continue and elevate the production of wine from these Cru’s. Thankfully, they knew a wonderful family that would be the perfect ones to carry the torch, the Vajra’s. I once spoke about this very subject to to Francesca Vajra the last time she visited St. Louis. She made it very clear that this rarely happens in Barolo. The land that these families own are incredibly precious to them and that land transfers to other families DO NOT HAPPEN. Fortunately, the Vajra’s were entrusted with the estate and have continued to produce amazing Nebbiolo. The 2014 Baudana is an incredibly strong wine. The richness and power that the blue soil provides from the Baudana Cru are very apparent here. What a wine! What a story!