Emeritus East West (2-Pack)

If there’s anything the wine geek in us loves most, it’s a side-by-side comparison of two wines from slightly different topographies. Emeritus brings us two of their fabulous 2021 estate-grown Pinot Noirs – one from Sonoma Coast’s Pinot Hill East, the other from Pinot Hill West, both scoring 94 points – for just $80 total (the standard single-bottle price). Experience some of Sonoma’s most acclaimed Pinot Noir for half off – and nerd out with us about their distinct personalities while you’re at it!

Emeritus is a Sonoma County powerhouse founded by Brice Cutrer Jones in 1999 – the same year he sold his revered Sonoma-Cutrer winery. In its considerably short lifetime, the winery has been rightfully touted as "one of the Russian River's most accomplished Pinot Noir producers" by Forbes magazine. With his daughter Mari Jones now leading the way, the estate’s focus on single-vineyard expressions of top sites across their portfolio has continued building them a strong reputation as they emphasise a long-term farming approach and showcase a deeply intimate knowledge of Pinot Noir.

With these two 2021 bottlings, the vineyard’s different exposures are the main factor that affects the wine. The East vines sit on steep slopes and receive very little sun, and mostly in the morning, producing a Pinot with more of a medium body, punchy acidity, and elegantly bright fruit notes. Meanwhile, the West gets more afternoon sun, resulting in fuller-bodied wines with earthy and spicy accents. This site is an estate-owned vineyard that is dry-farmed, allowing the roots to grow deep while its vicinity to the Pacific Ocean provides cooler temperatures and pure, balanced fruit.

In the East bottling, you’ll get punchy red fruits, soft florals, salty sea spray, citrus rind, and wild herb notes before an electric, zingy finish. The West offers up notes of dark red and black berries, warm spices, purple flowers, some mushrooms, and elements of a Redwood forest – moss, bark, damp earth. Two compelling, incredibly different iterations of Pinot Noir from opposite sides of the same site – these are massively fun and interesting to enjoy both side-by-side and on their own. When you can have two for the price of one, why not bring home at least a couple of 2-packs?