2023 Foppiano Vineyards Pinot Noir Russian River Valley 750 ml

Russian River is known for big Pinots and bigger prices—but the 2023 Foppiano Estate Grown Pinot turns the usual pricing on its head. Estate-grown on a historic property in an absolutely outstanding vintage, it’s juicy and vibrant, bursting with the ripe red fruit for which Russian River is revered. This bottle earned 92 points from James Suckling, it’s drinking beautifully right now, and it’s a rock-solid value at its $40 winery price. That makes it a no-brainer at our discount!

Stay in business for 128 years—like Foppiano Vineyards, one of the Sonoma Valley’s oldest continually-operating wineries has—and you learn a few things. Like how to evade snooping Prohibition officers, or navigate decades of fractious family rule by red-blooded Italian-Americans.

Foppiano’s 160-acre property is planted with Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, and Sauvignon Blanc—but it’s on the cooler blocks, near the Russian River itself, where the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir thrive. The morning fog and the warm summer days mix up a refreshing climatic cocktail that results in positively fantastic wines—and in 2023, they made a stunner in their Estate Pinot. 

The estate’s legendary, late patriarch, Louis J. Foppiano, was famous for his encyclopedic recall of vintage weather conditions stretching back to the turn of the last century—and the ‘23 season was one that no one at Foppiano will soon forget. It featured tons of early rains, before a long summer ripened the grapes beautifully. Foppiano gave their Pinot a slow fermentation followed by about a year in 30% new French oak.

The result is a fantastic Pinot, and one that comes WAY under market rate today. Don’t miss this chance to stock up on an underpriced classic.