Whilst being known more for their ultra high-end, critically acclaimed Napa Valley wines, Stewart winery is also a serious contender in neighboring Sonoma County. They recently purchased the iconic Montecillo Vineyard on Moon Mountain with some of the most pedigreed old-vine Cabernet in California. Beyond Bordeaux varietals they also produce stunning Pinot Noir from the Sonoma Coast. Winemaker Blair Guthrie honed his skills all over globe from his native New Zealand, to the hallowed cellars of Paul Hobbs' CrossBarn winery in Sebastopol. This particular bottling comes from two vineyards both in the very cool and windy Petaluma Gap AVA within the broader Sonoma Coast region. Here the volcanic soils and cooling ocean breezes make for a vibrant, fresh, highly perfumed expression of Pinot Noir with radiant, deep red fruit, exotic Asian spices, raspberry preserve, rosewater, dry leaves and bramble. On the palate the wine is so silky, bright, and energetic. I crushed the sample bottle of this in 30 mins flat. It's a lovely open, flavorful, easy to drink style, with a refined texture and vibrant, fresh acidity. By my reckoning, it's pretty much impossible to buy a better bottle of Pinot Noir than this at this price point. The deal we have today on this wine is just phenomenal. Get it while you can and at this price that probably won't be long.

Super bright and pretty fruit on the nose, there's just this light touch of barrel spice on the finish. There's cherries, raspberry, some cranberry skin, but also just this little touch of cocoa and coffee that melds in with the spice. The palate is lush, medium bodied and with super integrated and almost but not quite silky tannins, there's a lot of very ripe fruit here, more cherry, more raspberry, a little bit of blackberry, a little touch of rose petals in the very far background, and then more spice towards the finish. This is a crazy good bottle of Pinot Noir for this price, with a pedigree to match. Pick this up by the case for the holidays, it's the kind of Pinot Noir that you can just pop and pour and enjoy, but it will also elevate any meal or soiree where it's appropriate.