Fort Ross Vineyard Pinotage Sonoma Coast 2019

It’s earned 94 points and a lot more praise. It’s the best American example of this grape our team has ever tasted. Don’t skip past this just because Pinotage isn’t in your usual lineup – it should be. 

Pinotage hits like almost nothing else in the wine world. It's been lost and found again a couple times – popularity-wise – since it was created in South Africa in 1925 by crossing Pinot Noir with Cinsault. And when it’s done right (which can be tricky), it’s one of the most charming reds anywhere. Too bad there are only about 50 acres planted in all of California! This 2019 from Fort Ross is so good that it has us wishing more U.S. wineries would attempt it. Only 336 cases were made of this vintage.

Mysterious, inviting spice-market notes float out of the glass. There’s also plenty of spice on the palate, which is a wonderfully drinkable harmony of sweet and savory flavors. Black currant meets roasted tomato. Black tea mingles with cherry cola and plum. The medium-bodied texture is so resonant, like hitting all six strings for E major on the guitar. We’re really enjoying the gentle cedary tannins. A lovely, subtle effervescence and faint whiff of bubblegum suggest the possibility of some carbonic maceration before the grapes were crushed. Esteemed winemaker Jess Pisoni doesn’t mention that in his notes, but we do know he aged the wine in 15% new and 85% neutral French oak for 10 months, and bottled it unfiltered. Gorgeous.

Fort Ross owners Linda and Lester Schwartz imported the budwood from their native South Africa and turned it into yet another triumph of their academically ill-advised vineyard on the rugged Sonoma Coast. A 94 POINTER that’s both special and completely crushable?! Come on! Some weekend when you have time to cook, pair this gem with Bastilla – a Moroccan chicken pie – and watch something stylish like the Yves Saint Laurent documentary L'Amour Fou.