2018 Fog Crest Vineyard Laguna West Pinot Noir Russian River Valley 750 ml

Our members, as well as our wine team, have serious love for the gold medal–winning Pinot Noirs from the Fog Crest vineyard. The Wine Access faithful who jumped to claim previous allocations of Laguna West have left raves in their wake, calling it “top-quality” and “a great value.”

We’re thrilled winemaker Jérôme Chéry decided to share a tiny allocation of this wine from Fog Crest, which catapulted into the spotlight when their release took top honors at the 2018 San Francisco International Wine Competition.

Chery has incredible experience with Pinot Noir and an innate knowledge of how terroir translates into the glass. Fog Crest snapped him up in 2014, and they’ve been on an upward trajectory ever since.

Located north of Sebastopol in Sonoma County, Fog Crest Vineyard boasts an advantageous southeast exposure, which allows morning sun to counterbalance the famous fog that blankets the best vineyards of the AVA. An ancient sandstone ridge on which the vineyard lies allows the soils to drain effectively but provides few nutrients, leading vines to produce smaller, flavor-rich clusters of grapes. The tension inherent in those conditions can be felt in the energy of this ruby-hued Pinot.