In the grand scheme of sub-30$ pinots, there’s not a whole number of contenders. ABC obviously. A couple Hitching Post’s. J. Lohr Falcon’s Perch. DeLoach and a smattering of entry-level Sonomas… There’s a few out there. But this one here takes the cake. Clear ruby-garnet in the glass, a grimy, perfectly vegetal nose expressing ridiculous dry berry and pure pinot funk.

Gritty and piquant on the palate, the entry STUFFED with light cherry and searing acid. Bits of tannin introduce themselves early–almost feeling like heat–but the whole *feel* is of perfectly-balanced thin fruit on a base of pure Burgundian virility. There isn’t the severe greenery of a villages Bourgogne, or the bitter epitaphs: this is all California sunshine, but in a package geekily produced from over-runs of the finest vineyards in SRH. Sweet and luscious, the furit charming pomegranate and strawberry, an oily hillside shrubbery grinding at the core. There’s not a ton of it–and it sells out fast–so get in line for your new weekday Pinot drinker.

2021 NSO by Dusty Nabor Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills Santa Barbara Co. 13.5

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