2017 Secret Indulgence Le Duc Noir Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 750 ml

A Fog-Shrouded Sonoma Beauty

“You’re going to fall in love with these wines,” declared Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, awarding this raspberry-scented, limited-production Pinot Noir 92-94 points. Showing a “beautiful fine-grained frame and long, perfumed finish” this is one of a remarkable series of efforts from Côtes de Nuits royalty Jean-Charles Boisset.

Boisset may be known for large production wines, but his passion projects, like this one, are made in decidedly minute volumes, keeping jewels like the 2017 hidden except to a handful of restaurants and mailing list VIPs...until today. The bottling critic Jeb Dunnuck calls “about as delicious and easy-drinking as it gets,” is an absolute steal at $30 a bottle and a diamond-in-the-rough find with a production of only 1,500 cases.

On laid back country roads—where this Pinot is grown—early-rising farmers drive past in old pick-up trucks. Stopping alongside one of the rolling vineyards, the milky white fog produces a haunting landscape, drifting through rows of vines in thick blankets off the Pacific Ocean, often crashing to shore just a few miles away. This is the secret to coastal Pinot Noir: that cool dampness on the skin, reminiscent of the air inside a Burgundian cellar, refreshes the temperamental grape. Stick around long enough and the sun arrives to chase the fog away, sunbeams slicing through the haze. Within an hour, birds are chirping, the sky is blue, and the pre-dawn mists seem like a dream.

It’s in the alternation of these two states—cool fog and warm sun—like the pistons of a twin cylinder engine, that gives this wine its balance: the big, ripe fruit and alluring, full body, as well as its more reticent traits, like the dried herb and rose petal notes that are revealed the longer the glass sits. It’s a credit not just to the AVA but to the critically acclaimed work of Jean-Charles Boisset, the spirited, gifted figure behind the Secret Indulgence label. No stranger to Pinot Noir, he was raised amongst the vines in Vougeot and has spent his career elevating vineyards around the globe.

As he’s done at Raymond Vineyards and Buena Vista Winery, he brings Burgundian finesse to California opulence in this release. Supplementing the fruit from the Russian River are grapes from Carneros, investing the mix with bright red berry flavors and clean acidity. Boisset and his right-hand man with Pinot Noir, DeLoach winemaker Brian Maloney, favor open-top fermentation followed by a year of aging in 100% French oak, about a quarter of it new. This kind of pedigree for a Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir is practically unheard of at $30 a bottle. And with just 75 cases to share, this indulgence may disappear before many Pinot fans hear of it at all.