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.

Medium-deep ruby color; deep earthy and herbal aromas with some anise notes; deep, rich cherry flavors with some herbal notes; some oak; good structure and balance. Herbal and earthy Pinot with enough fruit to balance and add interest.

Liquid velvet! Black cherry seduction with mouth-watering yearning for more. Please! Complex with layered of dark berries that intermingle with a judicious use of oak. Drink now or save for a few years: you have the luxury of that choice with this wine. Pinot Noir food pairings: grilled radicchio , zucchini frittata, seared tuna.

Lush and concentrated with black cherry, sweet oak and rich spice; juicy, velvety texture and long, ripe flavors; classic RRV and loaded with charm.

Cherry-berry mouth-filling wonder. Just enough oak for hedonists. Full-bodied, layered yet not heavy.

Silky fleshy cherries roll their sensuous way across your tongue. Medium to almost full-bodied. So very smooth and sensuous. Long finish, like a sigh post .... Food matches: double-smoked bacon sandwiches, blackened lamb.

There’s a beautiful delicacy to this Pinot Noir, despite fairly high alcohol. Yet there’s nothing light about the fruit. Waves of raspberry and cherry jam, ripe persimmons and pomegranates flood the mouth, satisfying and delicious. Good as it is now, it should develop over the next 5–6 years.

Bright ruby. Smoky, pungent aromas of dark berry preserves, cherry pit and Indian spices, with a bright mineral topnote. Offers gently sweet cherry-cola and black raspberry flavors that are given lift and bite by tangy acidity. Becomes spicier with air and finishes with excellent clarity and persistence. I find this suave pinot very approachable now.

Ruby-red. Heady red fruit, potpourri and cola aromas, with a sexy vanilla nuance in the background. Juicy and expansive on the palate, offering pliant raspberry and cherry compote flavors and a bracing jolt of white pepper. Closes with impressive focus and length, with silky tannins adding subtle grip.

This wine ups the ante a bit in terms of ripeness, richness and size, but it impresses most for its very deep and well-defined fruit. It is fairly full-bodied and wonderfully balanced with lots of flesh and nicely placed acids. Although some may find it to be a little too much of a good thing, it is in no way excessive or over the top, and, if a fine match for a savory pork roast in the nearer term, it is built for keeping and should improve for another five or six years.

Bright ruby. An explosively perfumed bouquet evokes black raspberry, cola, incense and fresh rose. Sappy, palate-staining red and dark berry flavors show impressive depth and vivacity, with zesty acidity adding lift and cut. Closes sweet and very long, with lingering floral and spicecake note.

A rich, vital, complex Pinot Noir. Completely dry, with a savory scour of acidity, it treads a fine line between ripe cherries and pomegranates and earthier notes of mushrooms and dried herbs. Lots of terroir in this fine wine, which will take a few years of bottle age.