2016 Kukeri Lakeville Vineyard Petaluma Gap Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 750 ml

A Rare Pinot Noir Value from the Petaluma Gap

Wine and Real Estate have one thing in common: location is everything.

The Petaluma Gap is Sonoma’s newest AVA, where windswept, struggling vineyards produce some of the Golden State’s most superb, multidimensional Pinot Noir. Since the ink on its official status dried in December 2017, grape prices in the region have skyrocketed to some of the highest in the country—and as their prestige rises, these bottles are becoming harder and harder to find.

Today’s Kukeri Lakeville Vineyard Petaluma Gap Pinot Noir is a gem, sitting in Sonoma’s hottest, most expensive neighborhood. But this wine isn’t a “fixer-upper”—it’s a diamond in the rough, brought from the cellar as a result of our relationship with Kukeri.

Here’s Kukeri’s secret: Lakeville vineyard sits at the bottom of the same slope as the Gap Crown and Sun Chase vineyards, (the source for Kosta Browne and Sojourn Pinots that range from $65-$135), where the most expensive grapes in all of Sonoma County’s 1,700 square miles are grown. Quietly, Kukeri has been zeroing in on this same the terroir to make elegant, bright Pinot Noirs without the fuss or fancy label.

A windy, foggy current from the Pacific swirls into the bowl-shaped geography of the Gap, providing its namesake and simultaneously concentrating and balancing Pinot Noir. The 2016 Kukeri Lakeville Vineyard Pinot Noir is one such concentrated red—a single-vineyard bottling from a historic site once owned by the Chandon group, offering lush, spice-tinged aromatics, a juicy, mouthwatering core, kisses of vanilla and clove, and a lingering earthy finish.

The 2016 Pinot Noir is a classic, made more intense by the drought conditions throughout the growing season. We would gladly shell out $40 or more for a Pinot of this stature, given the small production and the gorgeous profile, but today that isn’t necessary.