One of our best-selling wines of all time was made by Dan Fitzgerald. As you may recall, Dan came to fame while working for Pinot powerhouses Robert Sinskey Vineyards and Williams-Selyem Winery. Now he’s leading the winemaking team at Brack Mountain Wine Company, under the L’Oliveto, Daniel and Cyprus labels.

This Pinot Noir has beautiful clarity and consistency with a gorgeous vermilion that permeates from core to edge. The nose on this wine is incredibly fragrant and pulls you right in with perfectly ripened fruit aromas of wild strawberry and raspberry, with powerful floral overtones of violets and elderflower - The whole thing is kept from being too perfumed by a counterbalancing note of dry grass. Wow! Just so much fresh fruit on the palate, with strawberry, cherry, blueberry, raspberry and nectarine with a gorgeous lime note and soft spice. Wines like this one from Cyprus testify as to why Russian River Valley is the premier appellation for Pinot Noir in all of California, if not North America. If that sounds like strong words, you need only take a sip of this perfectly balanced wine with silky soft tannins that blanket the palate in a sheer cloth of fruit flavor, gracefully sliding slowly towards the back of the palate before finally disappearing. You’ll see what we mean. This wine can be the star of the show; pair with a charcuterie plate of artisanal cured meats and you’re good to go.

We missed out on the 2015 vintage, so we were certain to be first in line for Cyprus’ 2016 vintage. Today’s Cyprus Wines 2016 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir is every bit as excellent as our 2015 Pinot Noir of the Year winner (the 2014).

This wine is drinking beautifully and we recommend that you keep plenty on hand for the coming Spring and Summer months. And some for the Fall. Oh, and be sure to get enough for Winter, too. You won’t be sorry!