We have a winner!! Today’s WIA18 winner for Top Pinot Noir of the Year is the dark, juicy, and deeply delicious Kendall-Jackson 2016 Outland Ridge Pinot Noir. This 96 point (WE) wine is also Wine Enthusiast Magazine’s #7 on their Top 100 Wines list. This wine will sell out.

This Pinot is a deep garnet with high density, barely allowing light to pass through it. Immediately impressed by the fragrant and alluring nose suffused with notes of boysenberry, dulce de leche, sandalwood, wild strawberry, and fresh-baked shortcake. The palate really brings that sandalwood spice to the fore, with gingersnap, pure vanilla, strawberry topping, and caramel. This wine is silky smooth from start to finish with a fruit-forward style that makes it effortless to quaff. Best paired with a roaring fire and your favorite person, pet, or book to snuggle with.

Kendall-Jackson makes some of America’s most popular wines, in every price range and quality. Today’s wine hails from the winery’s Estate Series which showcases their finest vineyards and appellations. Today’s wine was born of the Outland Ridge vineyard in California’s Anderson Valley. The vineyard is situated on Anderson Valley’s high eastern ridge. This remote vineyard is full of chunky, broken rock pieces in thin soil. Pinot Noir vines strain to cling to the steep faces along the ridgelines, yet produce deep, profoundly complex and age-worthy wines.

Enjoy, and we’re sorry if you missed out on this one.

Here’s what the wine press has to say.

96 points - Jim Gordon, Wine Enthusiast - “Concentrated, exotic and almost earthy, this wine from a single vineyard in Anderson Valley has a wild edge of smoked fruit, singed rosemary and black pepper, with a core of deep black-cherry and clove flavors. It is full-bodied, mouthfilling and layered, with nuances that continue to unfold on the evolving finish. Best through 2024.”

91 points - Antonio Galloni, Vinous - “A wine of impact, the 2016 Pinot Noir Outland Ridge offers striking depth to match its bold personality. Succulent dark cherry, plum, spice, new leather and licorice are all pushed forward in this deep, fleshy Pinot from Kendall-Jackson.”