2016 Black Kite Cellars Pinot Noir Sierra Mar Vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands California 750 ml

 Robert Redford came into Napa Valley's iconic Tra Vigne restaurant on a busy Friday night, leather-jacket clad, perusing the wine list. The servers guessed what he might order, rattling off pricey Napa Cabernets and French icons—but Black Kite won the day. He was so excited about it that he gave his personal stamp of approval, telling the servers "This is a wine you have to know, I simply love it."

Wines like the 2016 Sierra Mar are why Wine Enthusiast has listed Black Kite among “America’s Best Pinot Noirs.” From winemaker Jeff Gaffner—who helped Château St. Jean take home a Wine Spectator Wine of the Year award—it’s a high-elevation Pinot from a coveted Santa Lucia Highlands vineyard that had us all-in from the first sip. 

For years, Wine Access members have been all-in on Black Kite too, calling their wines “an outstanding value for the money” and “competitive with wines costing 2 to 3 times” as much. This 2016 delivers the kind of uncompromising quality you normally expect from California’s cult producers, $80+ bottles that disappear in high-profile cellars as soon as they’re released.

Boasting abundant prestige and focus, the 2016 Sierra Mar Pinot is “impeccably balanced and seamless” and “terrific” according to Jeb Dunnuck. The wine announces itself with aromas of blackberry, bramble, kola nut, and mint, then deepens the conversation with bold black fruit and silky tannins—an exceptional balance of concentration and grace.

At more than 1,000 feet above sea level, Sierra Mar is one of the highest-elevation vineyards in the Santa Lucia Highlands. It’s truly a picturesque landscape, featuring ridges and mesas that catch the golden sunlight. Its thin soils encourage deep root systems, low yields, and highly-concentrated grapes, leading to the kind of full and bold Pinot bottling that rarely comes at a price like this. 

This is the kind of Black Kite Pinot that got Robert Redford so excited he just had to share it, and we're passing on that enthusiastic recommendation to you. If we can borrow Mr. Redford’s words: This is a wine you have to know. We simply love it, and have a feeling you will too.