2018 Synthesis by Martin Ray Pinot Noir Russian River Valley 750 ml

Boasting a seldom-seen quality-to-price ratio for Sonoma, Martin Ray’s Pinots have been sending shockwaves through the industry, with bottles often selling out on the spot. That’s something the namesake founder, Martin Ray, would have loved to see. 

A pioneer of California viticulture alongside legends like Don Chappellet and Robert Mondavi, Ray was motivated by a desire to craft Burgundy-style wines that would rival the best of Europe. That mission continues today at the winery, which leverages long-term relationships to keep costs at record lows, and keep bottles like this one in the hands of savvy Pinot lovers.

Martin Ray’s twelve-acre Estate Vineyard lies smack-dab in the middle of hallowed terroir, and in 2018, it produced the grapes for this brilliant Synthesis Pinot Noir. It’s soft, generous, and rich in all the right places, absolutely classical in Russian River Valley style. “Lovely, soft and caressing texture,” raved James Suckling in his 94-point review.

The Martin Ray vineyard is less than a mile from the intersection of the River and Trenton roads—where the historic Joseph Swan estate has been minting coveted releases for over 50 years—and a few hundred feet from the Vine Hill site where Kistler has produced 97-point wines that run for $139 per bottle.

That gives you a pretty good indication of what most Pinot Noirs from around here cost. Martin Ray’s bottling, scented with warm blueberries and black plum followed by cherry cola and wildflowers, is normally $45 per bottle, but only $30 for Wine Access members today. At a fifth of the cost of its neighbors and boasting the same priceless terroir, it’s a bullseye for Russian River Valley typicity, and peerless California value.   

Those making Russian River Valley Pinot pilgrimages would find a visit to Martin Ray’s Estate Vineyard enlightening, as well as thirst-inducing. A mix of six celebrated Dijon Pinot Noir clones planted to the famous sandy loam Goldridge soils, forcing vines to work for every ounce of concentration, contribute to the fascinating complexity of this Synthesis bottling.

You can feel the moisture in the air, with the brisk marine influence sweeping up from the south through the Petaluma Gap. A blanket of fog hugs the ground in the mornings even in the summer, contributing to a diurnal temperature variation of around 35 degrees.

Both New World and Old World winemakers have found such cool, foggy conditions extremely desirable for keeping the fickle Pinot grape on a slow and even path to maturation. With so much labor and patience required to bring it to the peak of ripeness, the high prices for Russian River Valley Pinot are usually justified.

But so are the mad rushes we’ve been seeing when a $30 94-point stunner like this one goes up for sale—an indelible statement of terroir for a steal.