2014 Jigar Pinot Noir Russian River Sonoma County 750 ml

Highlight of Our Michelin-Recommended Lunch

When we first met up with Jigar Patel in downtown Forestville, we exited his tasting room and jaywalked across Front Street to get lunch at Backyard, the farm-to-fork restaurant run by a married couple with Michelin stars—and Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc—on their resumes. The place feels like a curated, virtual-reality version of the Sonoma experience, with its picturesque patio and hyper-local cuisine prepared by world-class chefs. Add a bottle of today’s 2014 Jigar, a super-juicy Russian River Pinot Noir to complete the picture. 2014 was the vintage that Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate rated as the finest ever for North Coast Pinot Noir, and a breakout year for Jigar, whose single-vineyard Pinots scored 94 and 92 points from the Advocate. But with or without a lofty Parker score, we know a good Pinot—and a great value—when we taste one. At $19.99 per bottle, beyond the wine list at Backyard, you won’t find this red-berry, wild-herb-infused, baking-spice tinged terrific bargain anywhere else, as we are first to market. Shipping included on 6.

When Jigar Patel started out, he compensated for his lack of experience with a surfeit of enthusiasm. Over the years, Jigar’s passion and practice begat something that his peers couldn’t help but notice: bona fide expertise and competence. After he bottled his 2014 vintage, a winemaker friend talked Jigar into submitting his wines to Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. He hastily grabbed two of his single-vineyard Pinots and shipped them off. Eventually, the results came back: The first two wines Jigar ever submitted to the Wine Advocate pulled in 94 and 92 points.

Maybe if Jigar had packed up one of his Russian River Pinots that day, we’d have a verdict from Robert Parker and his crew. His tiny-production 300-case 2014 Russian River Pinot is a flat-out brilliant bargain, delivering tons of Russian River ripeness, along with fresh acidity and a little baking spice brought on by 25% new French oak. We won’t count on a Russian River Pinot of this quality, at this price, anytime soon. At least not until we head out to Forestville again to taste Jigar’s next vintage.