Handley Cellars Pinot Noir Roderick Vineyard Anderson Valley 2019

Handley has been a long-time favorite, just under the radar, yet widely respected pinot producer for decades and we’ve been drinking them for years! To have enough to share with the rest of you is another matter – but we’ve scored here and can bring this rare 94 POINT Roderick Vineyard straight to your inbox! Pinot noir like this – for UNDER $30 is a screaming deal that you’d be wise to jump all over!

Handley is a well-established pinot powerhouse just a few miles from the Pacific, in Anderson Valley’s infamous Deep End. This is one of those rock-solid wineries that people don’t talk about – anyone who’s ever had them doesn’t want the secret to get out (and prices to go up)! Your humble scribe has been visiting and drinking Handley wines going back to the early '90s – with a consistent quality, and style that has helped to shape the entire Anderson Valley today.

The winery was founded in 1982, by winemaking pioneer, Milla Handley. She’s an absolute legend in the annals of California Wine and one that should be far better known. In 1975, she was one of the first female graduates from the University of California at Davis’s fermentation sciences program. A few short years later, with the launch of Handley Cellars, she became the first woman winemaker in the United States to establish her own namesake winery. Her winery’s founding coincided with the creation of the Anderson Valley AVA, and she was a pillar that allowed it to grow over the years into a world-class producer of top California wines. Her estate vineyard was the region’s first to obtain organic certification in 2005, and nearly four decades of prime Anderson Valley pinot noir was crafted by her hands.

This 94 point stunner hails from the fantastic 2019 vintage, from a spot called the Roderick Vineyard, close to the Pacific. This is typically one of the last vineyards to be picked in Anderson Valley, and this mix of Dijon clones 115 and 777 produce bright, fresh, and mineral-driven pinot noir flavors. Dominant notes of macerated strawberries, with accents of other red berries and cherries – this wine carries a salty vein of minerality and well-structured sensations of black tea that both buttresses the fruit profile and deepens the complexity considerably. It’s long, and powerful, and simply classic Anderson Valley from start to finish. A steal at our best anywhere price – this is one to go big on and enjoy over the next decade to come!

PAIRING IDEAS: Hear me out on this one...Mexican chili. Make chili as you normally would, but skew the flavor profile to all things Mexican. Cumin, roasted and dried chilies, chunky salsa, Mexican hot sauce, coriander, lime, Mexican beer, a taco spice packet or two...let your imagination run wild. Throw in a can or two of black beans at the finish, and a large glass of this – you’ll thank me later.