Nagy Pinot Noir

Nagy Wines Santa Maria Valley Garey Ranch Vineyard Pinot Noir 2010: Deeper, darker, and more cherry-leaning than most of the racier, strawberry-inflected wines from Santa Maria, this wine by Clarissa Nagy delivers the complex crushed brown spice notes that reliably come from Garey Ranch’s tiny grapes in the valley’s northeastern corner, as well as more gripping, meatier flavors than your typical boutique-level Central Coast pinot. Nagy is also the winemaker for Riverbench, which just opened a tasting room in Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone, so if you can’t find this rare bottling (Vino Divino has offered her wines in the past), you can try her other excellent handiwork on Santa Maria pinots and chardonnays today. See NagyWines.com and Riverbench.com.