Right place at the right time? You bet!

This gorgeous Pinot was destined for a restaurant group, exclusively. Alas, in that business, things can change between when a wine project gets the go-ahead and when the wine is in the bottle.

Enter Wine Spies, stage left. When we took the first whiff and then the first sip, we were HOOKED.

While it truly drinks like a top-of-the-line RRV, at $75, it’s just outside reach for a weekday Pinot. But if you consider the $25 we miraculously brought it down to, it’s a STEAL.

Especially given the opulence of the vintage, and the master winemaker behind it, Tom Hinde. You may remember that name from making Flowers from 2005 through 2010, following a 15-year stint at Jackson Family Wines, and later followed by a decade at Yao Ming. Now that kind of experience crafts dreamy Pinots with their eyes closed! Then again, it also helps that Au Contraire has access to top-notch fruit from Dutton Ranch, for example. While not disclosed, we believe it’s well-represented here.

Deep ruby-purple colored, it opens out to display gorgeous rose hip tea, kirsch, and steeped cranberries, with hints of dried thyme, black soil, and tree bark, with touches of baking spices and forest floor. Lithe and supple, the palate completely coats the mouth with earth-laced strawberries and kirsch suggestions, framed by fine-grained tannins and great freshness, finishing very long with a compelling herbal lift. This is insanely serious Pinot for what we got the price down to!

Never reviewed, since it was destined for a fancy wine list originally. We’re super happy it did not. Let’s leave you with the Wine Spectator vintage notes, evidently so, 2019 is “a benchmark vintage for Pinot Noir, with wines showing power, finesse, and the structure for cellaring…”

Bingo! Too bad it’s a small lot, so seize the day!