2015 Apriori Cellar Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 750 ml

Classic Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

Premiere Napa Valley, one of the marquee auction events of the California wine business, packs an unfathomable amount of winemaking talent under the pitched roof at CIA Greystone in St. Helena. Packed elbow-to-elbow, the sound of glasses clinking and corks popping is at a fever pitch as the Golden State’s most influential winemakers taste the new vintage, and argue spiritedly with their friends and rivals about the best wines on display. Meanwhile the country’s biggest buyers reach to sample one-of-a-kind barrels and priceless bottlings. For us, it’s a great place to catch up with vintners—and every so often, discover a new wine.

That’s what happened when we ran into Patrice Breton, best known for his blockbuster Vice Versa Cabernet—we stopped to say hello, and left with a lunch appointment to taste his Apriori line. Like Vice Versa, Apriori is crafted by Napa master Philippe Melka, and it’s a gem: beautifully vibrant, red-fruited, and complex. A dynamic Sonoma Coast Pinot dominated by raspberry, wild strawberry, and rose petal aromas cradled by silky tannins. Crafted by a 100-point winemaker, and priced at just $35.99—or $29.99 on a case or more.

We’re no strangers to Patrice Breton’s work. He is a passionate and exacting proprietor whose famed Vice Versa brand perfectly encapsulates his ethos: never work with anything but the best. His very first winemaker in that operation was the legendary Paul Hobbs. His current winemaker is Melka, the Haut-Brion, Dominus, and Bryant Family alum who took the reins at Vice Versa in the 2015 vintage, and promptly crafted a handful of 98-, 99-, and 100-point wines.

So it’s easy to see why, when Breton and his partner Georges Sabongui founded Apriori, they knew they had their man in Melka. At Apriori, they have focused Melka’s talents on the Sonoma Coast AVA, a haven for Burgundy varieties that stretches from San Pablo Bay up the cool California coast to Mendocino County. Fruit for the 2015 Sonoma Coast Pinot is sourced from select vineyards within the appellation, sorted and destemmed, then chilled and fermented slowly over three weeks, before spending nine months in neutral oak barrels developing its silken texture, and well-integrated tannins.

The resulting wine is classic Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir—brilliant ruby, showing tons of raspberry, strawberry, rose petals and fresh herbs. It is focused and fresh, perfect for when you want top-quality Sonoma Coast Pinot, but don’t want to pay Kosta Browne prices. Bottles bearing Philippe Melka’s fingerprints regularly blow past the three-digit barrier, so this one, at well under $40, is a rarity—when you’re sharing it with good friends, let them know their Pinot was crafted by one of Napa’s greatest winemakers. Whether you mention its humble price, however, is up to you.