Eden Rift Pinot Noir Reserve Cienega Valley 2019

We simply cannot play favorites, but we can say this: Eden Rift is one of our team’s go-tos to fill our own wine shelves with on the regular. The thoughtful farming, the tenured winemaking, the historic vineyard…the price?! It just doesn’t get much better than this. Their 93 point 2019 Reserve Pinot Noir is yet another stunning release, and for under $25 on 4+ bottles, this is one wine that we’re all gladly stocking up on in spades!

If you love Central Coast wines, then you probably know of and love Calera, located right outside Monterey Bay and holding the title of game-changer for this little-known region of Cienega Valley. It was Calera that first discovered that the terroir and climate in this area were almost identical to Burgundy’s when it came to growing exceptional Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Eden Rift’s fearless leader, Cory Waller, previously held the assistant winemaker title at Calera, cutting his teeth and learning the terroir at the iconic winery before joining Eden Rift in 2016. Now, Eden Rift is carving its own path and crafting some of the most spectacular expressions of these varieties that could easily outpace wines triple the price.

Christian Pillsbury acquired the estate in 2016 and filled out his buzzing team with young and ambitious wine industry folks, including Cory – but the vineyard has been in operation for far longer, since 1849. Theophile Vache planted the 120-acre estate initially, perched on the hills along the San Andreas Faultline in the Cienega Valley AVA. Early vintners focused on some of the first Pinot Noir plantings in California, sown on Eden Rift’s limestone and dolomite-packed land in 1860 – but both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay were somewhat forgotten on the property after prohibition, until Christian and his team swept in a few years back, producing some bonkers-level delicious wines ever since.

Cory favors fruit from vines that struggle, and in the cellar, he leans toward native yeasts and neutral vessels. For him, getting the voice of the vineyard into the bottle is an urgent and achievable mission, and we’ve witnessed it in every release of theirs we’ve tasted…no exceptions today. This 2019 leans sultry and savory, with pepper-crusted dry-cured salami and peppery beef jerky adding nuance to a core of brambly blackberries, Bing cherries, pear compote, rosemary, and dried rose petals. Undeniably stunning and rich with complexities that make it worthy of the $72 price the winery sells it for... and an absolute mind-melting steal for our under $25 price when you get 4 or more! Why not go for a case?

PAIRING IDEAS: This is a Pinot that can easily hold up to some red meat and some spice. I paired it with one of my favorite dishes – this beef and broccoli – and amped up the ginger, red pepper flakes, and garlic to make it extra potent with this spicy, seductive wine.