Best Pinot Noir Wine Rated 90+ Points For Every Budget

Many wine lovers share a love affair with the Pinot Noir grape, maybe it is the fact that it can be so difficult to grow, but when it is grown in the right soil with the perfect weather conditions and at the hands of a great vigneron, aromas of soft red berry fruit mix with heady, earthy hints of mushrooms and white truffles will unravel even the most sophisticated drinker. The best Pinot Noir from California in the Sonoma Coast and Willamette Valley, Oregon tend to show more forward fruit flavors while wines from Burgundy, Pinot Noir’s Motherland, often produce wines with higher acidity and earthy tones as the more dominant aromatic profile. (Read More)

In addition to these amazing sites, some of the best Pinot Noir is also being grown in New Zealand. Pinot Noir is known for being a bit of a contradiction by being all at once delicate and subtle, while also showing power, concentration and depth. Browse the best Pinot Noir rated 90+ points and read expert descriptions about each bottle to quench your palate. We carry some of the most exclusive and hard to find Pinot Noirs who often have waiting lists for their waiting lists like Marcassin and Kosta Browne. Make sure to sign up and receive our emails to receive our exclusive offers on these hard to find wines.

pinot noir st. innocent cuvee villages 2010

2010 St. Innocent

"Vivid red. High-pitched aromas of wild red berries and rose, with peppery spice notes in the background. Racy and precise, offering sappy strawberry and bitter cherry flavors and a touch of bitter orange pith. Closes nervy and tight, with very good clarity and length."

2008 Villa Maria

"Blended from vineyards in the Awatere and Wairau valleys some of the lots fermented with added yeast, some without this is a pure and rosy pinot with spiciness that lasts. A hint of gamey complexity at the end makes this a delicate match for roast quail stuffed with wild mushrooms."

2010 Melville

"Presents an intriguing fabric of sweet candied cherries, rose petals, mint and sweet herbs. This is an especially juicy, yet medium-bodied Pinot built on finesse and elegance. This is simply gorgeous."

pinot noir st. innocent freedom hill 2009

2009 St. Innocent

"displays candied and maraschino cherry with a sizzle of cinnamon, but also – somehow without any sense of misfit – tart-edged blackberry, charred red meats, and savory pan scrapings from same, leading to a vibrant finish of uncontrolled salivation, intense spice, and sappy-sweet persistence."

pinot noir siduri sebastiano vineyard 2010

2010 Siduri

"Combines ripe, complex fruit with a measure of finesse and detail, offering ripe cherry and raspberry, with fresh earth and subtle oak notes that show touches of anise and licorice. Gains depth and persistence."

pinot noir joseph phelps freestone 2010

2010 Jospeh Phelps

"Immediate and juicy, this jumps from the glass with layers of radiant red fruit. This supple, resonant wine is another gorgeous wine from Phelps. The is a blend of roughly equal parts Pastorale and Quarter Moon Vineyards."

pinot noir ken wright nysa vineyard 2010

2010 Ken Wright

"He aims to keep the alcohol levels low without sacrificing any flavor or depth. This is a gorgeous color, aromatically rich with a bouquet of fruit and flowers. Fresh and primary flavors of ripe berry are set amid delicate tannins. The structure suggests excellent aging potential over a decade or more."

pinot noir neely spring ridge vineyard hidden block 2009

2009 Neely

"A wine of extraordinary textural finesse and elegance. Sweet dried cherries, flowers, mint and hard candy are some of the notes that take shape in the glass. The finish turns a bit ethereal, but there is more than enough depth in the fruit to make me think the 2009 will drink well for a number of years."

pinot noir failla keefer ranch 2010

2010 Failla

"Good deep red-ruby. Plum, red cherry and earth on the nuanced nose. Silky and savory, with a sappy cranberry quality lifting the raspberry, blackberry and game flavors. Lovely fruit intensity and muscle here. The persistent finish features smooth tannins."

workhorse red big table farm nv

NV Big Table Farm

"Light purple. Redcurrant, cherry and Asian spices on the assertively perfumed nose. Bright and racy, offering intense red fruit flavors accented by cinnamon and allspice. Shows very good energy on the finish, which leaves notes of gingerbread and candied cherry behind. This intriguing wine is 90% 2010 pinot noir from the Resonance vineyard and 10% 2009 syrah and it was fermented with some whole clusters, which are no doubt responsible for its wild, spicy character."

pinot noir foxen julia

2010 Foxen

"This is an attractive, mid-weight Pinot bursting with energy and sheer class. Dark red cherries, mint and spices are some of the notes that emerge as the Julia’s shows off its pedigree and pure class. There is good juiciness and inner perfume, but this remains a finessed style of Pinot built on length and minerality."

pinot noir melville carrie

2010 Melville

"This is tremendous. Everything seems to come together in this effortless yet powerful wine. It captures an intriguing combination of structure and bold, racy fruit. It boasts marvelous depth and integrity, with seemingly endless layers of fruit that fill out the wine's broad-shouldered frame. This is drop-dead gorgeous."

pinot noir foxen bien nacido vineyard block 8 2010

2010 Foxen

"Another super-impressive wine from Foxen. It combines some of the ethereal feel of the Julia’s with the weight of the Sea Smoke. If that sounds appealing, believe me, it is. This is a marvelous Pinot loaded with class and finesse."

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2009 Flowers

This is selected from Flowers’ most recent planting, 43 acres rising from 1,400 to 1,875 feet above the Pacific. The best wines from this vineyard have shown glimmers of grand cru sophistication and this 2009 develops in a way that parallels a great Burgundy. It starts off meaty, seemingly simple in its directness, until it begins to deepen, the tannins going through an adolescent moment with a character like spiced tea ad cheese rind. By the next day, those tannins have turned towards ferrous minerality and the wine is racy, dense, floral, as red as persimmon, powerful in an oceanic sense. If you don’t believe there is terroir character in California pinot noir, spend some time at this vineyard, then go home and taste the wine.

native 9 pinot noir 2009

2009 Native 9

"Ruby-red. Alluring aromas of raspberry, licorice pastille and incense, with a suave floral quality adding complexity. Fleshy flavors of sweet red berries and candied flowers are impressively concentrated but show surprising vivacity and focus. The lush, palate-staining fruit is given shape by silky tannins, which fold into the fruit on the back end. Gains a floral quality on the finish, where the sweet berry and spice notes carry through."

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2010 Flowers

"A cool climate has given this wine bracing acidity and gentle-yet-persistent tannins. Its flavors of wild raspberries and cherries, with spice and mineral overtones, are delicious. The oak is powerful and present in the form of toast and sweet vanilla, but perfectly balanced with the wine’s volume."

2009 Calera

"Made in a much more fruit-driven style than some of the other Pinots in this lineup. It boasts stunning depth and richness, but in the classic Calera style that never abandons a sense of structural finesse. Juicy dark berries, hard candy, flowers and herbs wrap around the rich, textured finish. This is yet another dazzling Pinot from Calera."

pinot noir aubert uv-sl 2010

2010 Aubert

"This is the richest and most expressive and also shows the best balance of aromatics, fruit, acidity and tannin. Soy, mocha, the blackest of cherries and white flowers are some of the notes that flesh out in the glass. Delicately woven layers of nuance distinguish the UV-SL. This is a striking wine in every way."

pinot noir marcassin estate 2007

2007 Marcassin

"This mindboggling effort may be the finest Pinot Noir Wetlaufer and Turley have ever produced. A wine of extraordinary sublimity, intensity, authority and palate presence, it offers wonderfully ripe (but not overripe) blue and red fruits intermixed with notions of forest floor, spring flowers, camphor, plum sauce and a smoky character that I identify with Peking duck. The wine possesses staggering intensity and richness but it is neither heavy nor overbearing. This is an exquisite Pinot Noir the likes of which Marcassin has never before made. It should continue to evolve for two decades."

90 points or higher for all budgets

We demystify the wine buying process so you can purchase knowing you are getting a superb, high quality wine. All of our wines are rated 90 points or higher by at least one of the following industry experts:

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