2021 Primrose Trail Pinot Noir Grand Reserve Paso Robles 750 ml

Our friend Linda finds NDA-protected wines of the highest caliber for Primrose Trail: She’s on speed-dial for a number of great California winemakers, and often gives us first dibs on her new projects.

“Let’s get this out of the way right now,” she said as she poured us our first taste, “there’s absolutely no way you get to use the name of the winemaker. He’s too famous, and his wines are too expensive to be on the ticket with this bottle.”

We took our first sip, and were floored with what was in the glass. When Linda mentioned only 120 cases were made, we immediately claimed the entire lot at a healthy discount.

“Now that you’ve signed on the dotted line…” she continued, finally revealing the winemaker’s name—and we were so surprised that we nearly dropped our glasses.

She was right: He was too famous to mention, at least if we were going to keep the discount we’d negotiated. He’s one of the most famous names in California wine: A superstar sommelier who turned to winemaking and is now one of the hottest names in the Central Coast.

For this bottling, he sourced prime Pinot Noir from an estate just ten miles from the Pacific. Warmed during the day and battered by cool winds at night, it boasts a long growing season that’s a perfect location to make the kind of dramatic Pinot we love. It’s easy to see how this is normally a $48 bottle—and we’re buying it by the case to make sure we have enough for the next year or five.