2023 Angeline Pinot Noir Reserve Mendocino County 750 ml

Angeline’s Pinot Noir Reserve Mendocino County is one of our most reliably beloved Pinots—with member ratings that have challenged $65+ bottles from the likes of RAEN and Kosta-Browne. At this 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. 

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. Deep, alluvial, mineral-rich soils serve as the staging ground for grapes full of intensity yet as precise as fine-point pens. If not for Benham’s handshake deals, built on decades-long relationships, these grapes might be going into wines that cost $50 or more.

The 2023 vintage was a great one in this corner of California. The normally cool Mendocino AVA benefited was juuuust the right amount of warm, allowing Emeroson and team to pick perfectly ripe grapes at their leisure. The result is a Pinot combining beautiful fruit, lively acidity, and a softly tannic grip.

It was a fine target to hit, and Renaud and Emerson pulled it off with aplomb. In vintage after vintage, they’re raising expectations across the industry for what under-$20 Pinot can be. In our opinion, this 2023 raises the bar even higher.