Let’s say you’re a vintner in the Santa Rita Hills producing serious Pinot Noir in the $40-$60 range. When the time comes to craft your final blend and bottle the finished product, chances are there are going to be some lots of wine that don’t make the cut. This is how ‘second’ labels—the most famous examples being those of Bordeaux—come to be.
There’s some incredible value to be found in this category, as you might expect: After all, these are wines from the same vineyard sources, subjected to the same treatment in the winery, as the ‘first’ wines. Today’s Pinot Noir, bottled under the Transverse label, is a second wine of not one but several elite wineries in the Santa Rita Hills. Crafted consortium-style under the direction of a well-connected California wine distributor, this wine—as we noted when we offered its sibling Chardonnay a few weeks back—was originally designed to populate Bay Area restaurant wine lists. Transverse boasts raw material that greatly transcends the modest price of the bottle, and there’s no question in my mind that this wine out-performs countless Santa Rita Hills Pinots costing twice, even three times, as much. Just as important is how faithful this 2015 is to what Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir is meant to be—namely, the ultimate expression of true “cool-climate” California. This wine has beautiful fruit but also great energy and structure, which is no small achievement. Most California Pinots at this price are wan, sweet confections; this one has real structure and breed. Whether you’d like a way-above-average daily drinker for the pantry or a big-event wine that’ll have guests snapping photos of the label, this is an utterly outstanding value. Pounce on it!