“An elegant structure with nice acid and a bit of tannin on the finish. This takes me back to the Pinot Noirs I tasted from Acacia in the ‘80s and ‘90s.” – Jim Gordon, Wine Enthusiast

If Goldilocks came into your house and tried a few wines, she might settle on this one.

It’s just right.

Not just because it’s priced to bring a smile to your Pinot sipping face. It’s also straight-up fantastic quality - ripe and silky, but restrained and gorgeous from every angle.

Olivia Brion was a suffragist and descendant of a great French wine family. She earned recognition in 2905 by winning a wager - outrunning a locomotive from Canterbury to Maidstone. These wines honor that fighting spirit and determined ‘can do’ mindset.

Owner and winemaker Kira Ballotta immersed herself in the wine industry starting in 2011. Her work culminated in helping Alpha Omega earn their first 100-point wine in 2018 before taking over as winemaker for Olivia Brion in 2019. Today, her wines such as this Pinot can be found at top restaurants like Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc, Bouchon, or Morimoto to name a few.

All their vineyards are organically farmed, just like Willowside, the single-vineyard this one hails from. No pesticides. No herbicides. Using sheep as ‘wooly weeders.” True land stewards. That’s the sort of system they follow here.

This is a purist’s Pinot. Despite the Russian River designation ringing intense ripeness, it retains excellent freshness, without sweet cola or jammy fruit. Elegant on its feet, dripping with finesses, but still drops a BLAST of flavor. A basket of red fruits - cranberry, cherry, pomegranate, raspberry, rhubarb. A sneaky tiptoe of orange peel. A whisper of baking spices. It all unfolds in delicate layers, getting better and better with time… until the bottle is empty.

At this price, we’ll happily drink this all summer long, as one should.