2019 Gary Farrell Pinot Noir Russian River Selection 750 ml

This wine is a MUST-HAVE for Pinot Noir lovers everywhere, made by a producer that defines the Russian River Valley AVA. 

Gary Farrell’s Russian River Selection is the winery’s calling card, a tapestry of the best vineyards in the region, including Rochioli, Bacigalupi, Hallberg, and more—sources of some of the most critically acclaimed (and most expensive) Pinot Noirs in California. 

Crafted by winemaker Theresa Heredia, who cut her teeth at Volnay’s Domaine de Montille before running Freestone Winery for Joseph Phelps, this wine offers the sun-drenched, red-fruited power of the Russian River Valley combined with Burgundian finesse.

At a time when California Pinot Noir is exploding with top-scoring new producers, few names carry the weight of Gary Farrell, a pioneer in the Russian River Valley who famously helped usher in the region’s rise to prominence.  The winery has been leading the way since 1982, when Farrell himself made a Pinot from Rochioli Vineyard before there was even an AVA for the Russian River Valley. 

Heredia has a deft touch with Pinot Noir. When she came on board at Gary Farrell, her Côte de Beaune expertise was immediately evident: She instituted the use of native yeasts and ushered in an era of wines marked by grace, sleek acidity, and exuberantly fresh fruit.

Vintage after vintage, Farrell’s Russian River Selection encapsulates the generous fruit, spice, and floral lift that make Pinots from this popular Sonoma AVA so special, and the 2019 rendition is further proof that this classic producer is synonymous with great Sonoma Pinot Noir.