Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from Oregon and California. André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker, decidedly stayed away from the grape claiming, “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.” All three wines are new to the shop and all are 100% Pinot Noir. Let’s see which one wins! We will sample:

Chamilly Mercurey Mont Morin Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2020, France — This small vineyard in the heart the village of Mercurey is wholly owned by the Desfontaine family. Coming from a high climate close to Monthelons, this Mercurey maintains freshness and dynamism even in the hottest vintages. Full of youthful fruit with a firm finish. Aromas of fresh earth and a handful of ripe cherries and wild strawberries sprinkled with wild mint. The palate concentrates these notes and finishes with a balanced mushroom and stone note. Textured and with good balance, this wine is approachable in its youth. 13% ABV. Rating: 92, Wine Enthusiast. $43/14

Anne Amie Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2022, Oregon — Home of some of the planet’s most amazingly elegant and expressive Pinot noir, the Willamette Valley is a pastoral, mixed landscape of green, bucolic rolling hills, dramatic forestlands and small, independent, friendly wine growers. At Anne Amie, vineyards receive only the minimal required treatments and yields are severely reduced to yield fruit with great depth and complexity. This PN offers aromas of cherry, cola, leather, blueberry, blackberries and bramble. Flavors of cassis, dark cherry, baking spice, plum and pomegranate. Finishes long with edgy, dusty tannins and acidity. 13.5% ABV. Rating: 90, Wine Enthusiast. $35.50/12

BloodRoot Coastal Cali Pinot Noir 2022, Sonoma County, California — BloodRoot is a secret collaboration between acclaimed winemakers. This group has deep contacts and vineyard sourcing which means they can create great wines for relatively modest prices. This group is also masterful at creating blends. They want to be anonymous because they have other projects where their wines sell for 4-5X as much with scores from critics in the 95-100 point range. Cool vineyard sites withstood the massive heat waves of the year. Deeply pitched floral notes followed by flavors of dark macerated blackberry, wild strawberry and warm spice characteristics. This is kept quite lively by accents of Northern California forest pine needles and focused acidity. This shows a good combination of forward fruit with an extra kick of richness from the 25% new oak—pretty much unheard of for a wine at this level. Drinkable now but will undoubtedly unfold more over the coming months and years. 13.4% ABV. Rating: 90, Vinuous. $29.99/10