Lush and round with spice and berry fruit; long and complex and delicious.

Spicy and suave, with sandalwood and cardamom notes to the cherry tart and baked plum flavors. Chocolate and cream details show on the rich finish.

The 2017s From Sonoma More exotic, the 2016 Pinot Noir Fog Veil comes from the estate Piner and Piner-Olivet Vineyards in the Russian River and was aged 15 months in 37% new French oak. Lots of red and black fruits, baking spices, dried earth, and even a hint of caramelized orange zest give way to a medium-bodied, rounded, supple, nicely textured Pinot Noir that has loads of character. Drink it over the coming 4-6 years.

USA, Northern California, Napa Valley: 2016 & 2017 – A Tale of Two Vintages The 2016 Pinot Noir Green Valley is medium ruby-purple in color and opens with opulent black cherries, black raspberries and baking spices notes with nuances of rose petals, violets, dried herbs and underbrush. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers wonderfully nuanced red and black berry flavors, with a grainy texture and great freshness paving the long finish.

This might be my favorite Pinot Noir in the under fifty dollar range, as I have enjoyed many superb vintages over the last two decades, and the 2015 vintage is simply delightful! We enjoyed a bottle with our Christmas Feast, which featured medium rare beef tenderloin. The scent of fresh made jam wafts up from the bottle to add to the aroma of the Christmas Dinner table. The flavors are thick and juicy with a preponderance of cherry and strawberry. There is an undercurrent of plum and raspberry which lead to mild toasty oak tannins. The finish is powerful and long, and sails off into the night begging for another sip! The alcohol content is 14.5% and Norm's score is 92. The wine was superb with our roasted tenderloin, but I have also enjoyed this wine with grilled salmon, and once with broiled cold water lobster tails. I don't think you can find a better Pinot Noir for under fifty dollars.

This is a well-structured, subtly flavored wine that should improve and become even more complex with a few years aging. It has bold black-cherry aromas, enticing black-fruit flavors that are more tangy than rich, and mild oak spices wending through from aroma to finish. Best after 2023.

Lusciously spiced, with finely grained and supple flavors of cherry tart, mocha and hot stone, supported by medium-grained tannins. The silky finish features a creamy texture.

From an estate vineyard just 3-4 miles from the Pacific Ocean, the 2015 Pinot Noir Shell Ridge Vineyard was mostly destemmed (there's a touch of whole cluster) and aged in 35% new French oak. Slightly more fresh and focused than the Fog Veil release, it has perfumed raspberry, spice box, and dried flower aromatics, building salty minerality, medium body, and a clean, elegant finish.

La Crema’s Fog Veil Pinot Noir is richly layered and powerful, showing ripe flavors of cherry and black fruits and a woodspice note through the long, impressive finish. Drinking beautifully now though a bit grippy on the back end, so additional cellar time would benefit this wine mightily.

This is an impressive style of RRV pinot beginning with its fresh, almost electric, acidity followed by lifted aromas of sandalwood, plums and boysenberry fruit. The attack is the classic black fruit that dominates Russian river pinot with bits of brown spice threaded throughout its lush finish. The grapes come off 20-year-old, neighboring estates, Piner and Olivet, in the heart of the Russian River Valley where the fog often lingers into the late morning hours. The soils are free draining Huichica loams well-suited to a mix of pinot clones in this case 23, 667, 777, Flowers and Pommard. The Fog Veil harvest began on August 31 and the wine spent 15 months in 33 percent new French oak. Delicious stuff.

We have reviewed a couple of Chardonnay vintages from La Crema and they have scored very well. Considering their quality, they are at a value price point. Pinot Noir is a bit trickier of a grape than Chardonnay as it is more delicate and can be dreadfully expensive. Here, again at a relatively modest cost, we have a La Crema Sonoma Coast 2015 at $29.95. Yes, you must have heard of the gentle fog off the Sonoma Coast keeping the Pinot Noir grapes cool, fresh, and delicate instead of being baked in the hot California sun. A cool climate grape means grapes spend more time on the vine allowing for a deeper, more dramatic spectrum of flavours and aromas to develop. The grapes were hand sorted, de-stemmed, and cold soaked for three days before fermenting in open-top tanks and punched down three times a day during active fermentation. The wine was then racked in 20 per cent new and old French oak barrels for 9 months. The wine was sourced from multiple Sonoma Coast vineyards. “Sonoma Coast 2015 Pinot Noir pairs well with aged cheddar cheese, pork tenderloin and roasted chicken. The balance of silky tannins, fruit and acidity also make it a versatile choice for a Thanksgiving table, complimenting a variety of dishes from turkey to cornbread to whipped potatoes.” Solid aromas of sweet red cherry, black cherry, raspberry, milk chocolate, and pine resin. While the wine is silky on the palate, it speaks with brash authority. Gentle tannins with lots of sweet red cherry and raspberry on the palate. Sensual and elegant, I think not, but a wine that speaks its mind with pride and passion. It slaps silly Burgundian Pinot Noirs at the same price point. I’d think good until 2022. As for the food pairings suggested above, I agree and, although a bit too aggressive for simply prepared salmon, it would go well with wild Pacific salmon served with capers, anchovies, and jalapeno peppers.

Ten wines based on a grape deserving more recognition It's ripe, for sure, with a brambly-fruit base and 14.5-per-cent alcohol for body, but on balance this is an enticingly earthy-spicy style from Sonoma County, with vibrant acidity supplying tight structure. Perfect for medium-rare duck breast or grilled lamb chops.

Beautifully balanced and vibrant. Ripe and tart cherry aromas: love that this doesn't lead with chocolate for oak aging. Thank-you. Pinot Noir food pairings: spinach and spring greens salad with strawberry dressing, apple pear walnut and pecan salad with pomegranate dressing.

Ripe berry and smoke aromas follow through to a full body, round and velvety tannins and a savory finish. Lots going on here. Drink or hold.

Silky and fruity reds with plum and berry character. Lemon undertones. Medium body, fresh finish. Drink now.

Beautifully balanced and vibrant. Ripe and tart cherry aromas: love that this doesn't lead with chocolate for oak aging. Thank-you.

A dash of spicy oak suggests nutmeg and cinnamon in the aroma of this well-balanced, rich and flavorful wine. Cherry, red currant and touches of mint and cedar fill out the palate, and the texture is just firm enough, with fine tannins for great balance.

Smooth and ripe with silky texture and notes of earth and spice; balanced and long.

Medium ruby color; bright, lively cherry aromas with spiced cola and oak notes; focused, bright cherry and plum flavors with strawberry and cocoa accents; good structure and balance. This Pinot feels good in the mouth—lots of flavor and light on its feet. Originally published in issue #103

Medium ruby color; bright, lively cherry aromas with spiced cola and oak notes; focused, bright cherry and plum flavors with strawberry and cocoa accents; good structure and balance; long finish. This Pinot feels good in the mouth -- lots of flavor and light on its feet.

La Crema's second vintage from Oregon succeeds by over delivering value at its price point, bringing a depth and complexity you'd expect at double the dollars. Cherry, strawberry, flowers and dry earth fragrances entice your nose, and lead to a palate that brings them to bear along with a touch of bay leaf and fennel. The finish is long and complex, with a touch of roasted coffee adding interest. Give it some air time before enjoying with the holiday bird.

The producer expertly captures the mix of coolness and intensity so true to the appellation, a tangle of brooding black cherry, blackberry and underlying smoke, that's both decadent and succulent on the palate, deeply satisfying in its finish of chocolate and black licorice.

The 2013 Pinot Noir Green Valley, from a cool subsection of the Russian River, exhibits plums and sweet cherries along with hints of earth, forest floor and underbrush. It has a beautiful mouthfeel, medium to full-bodied texture and terrific purity. It was aged nine months in 31% new French oak and came from the newer Dijon clones, 667, 777 and older ones such as 115 and 23.

Fleshy cherry and dark spice with a long, naughty finish. Medium-bodied and satin smooth like lingerie. A supple, smooth red wine with cherry-berry mouth-filling wonder and flavours. Just enough oak for hedonists. Layered yet not heavy. A consistently great producer of classic Californian pinot noir year after year. Love this silky Pinot Noir! It seems to get better every year. Beautiful cherries and field raspberry notes roll in first, then there's fresh earth aromas after a spring rain followed by some baking spices and a long finish. This pinot has been one of my favourites for years. Satin seduction in a glass.

A supple, smooth, medium bodied red wine with cherry-berry mouth-filling wonder and flavours. Just enough oak for hedonists. Full-bodied, layered yet not heavy. A consistently great producer of classic Californian pinot noir year after year. Love this silky Pinot Noir! It seems to get better every year. Beautiful cherries and field raspberry notes roll in first, then there's fresh earth aromas after a spring rain followed by some baking spices and a long finish. This pinot has been one of my favourites for years. Satin seduction in a glass. Pinot Noir food pairings: seafood, coq au vin, beef, grilled salmon, lamb. A Natalie MacLean Scrumptious Seafood Wine.