2021 Angeline Pinot Noir Reserve Mendocino County 750 ml

This Pinot Noir Reserve from Mendocino County is the #1 bestselling wine at the Angeline tasting room—a chart-topping smash-hit that has visitors schlepping bottles out to their cars by the case.

One glass of the 2021 and you’ll understand the instinct to hoard. At an unbelievable price, backed by 100-point winemaking pedigree and 92-point critical praise, this is one of the single best bargains on Pinot Noir in the country, and it’s possibly the nationwide value to beat—for any grape.

We’ve been huge supporters of Angeline—run by Courtney Benham, owner of the storied Martin Ray Vineyards & Winery—from the beginning. The formula is simple: leverage Benham’s deep network of growers in Northern California, keep overhead low, and pull the rug out from under the idea that great California Pinot Noir starts at $30 and up.

The super-talented winemaking duo of Talley alum Leslie Renaud and consultant Keith Emerson, who achieved 100-point fame at Vineyard 29, help make this proposition possible.

For today’s release, they focused on hillside plots in Mendocino County where Pinot Noir vines soak up the sun’s rays after the chilly morning fog pulls away, priming the grapes for lithe concentration.  

The 2021 vintage is already gaining steam as a modern-day classic, though yields were down across the North Coast. A warm summer and drought meant that berries were small and sparse, but the combination made for wines like this one, which combines beautiful fruit, lively acidity, and a softly tannic grip.

Renaud and Emerson pulled this one off with aplomb, and with every vintage, they raise expectations for what value-Pinot can be. In our opinion, this 2021 says it best.