Our blind panels tasted 917 new-release Pinot Noirs over the past 12 months. Out of the 353 wines our critics rated as exceptional (90+) and 77 as Best Buys, here are great Pinot Noir picks from Oregon for $25 and under, rated by our critic Patrick J. Comiskey.
Aeris
2019 Oregon Pinot Noir
88 | $17
With a dark display of fruit, plum and ripe black cherry, this wine over delivers for the price.
Battle Creek Cellars
2019 Oregon Unconditional Pinot Noir
89 | $18
Bright and pretty, with a scent of cherries jubilee and brambly accents, this is a well-made bargain to pour for roast chicken.
Erath
2018 Oregon Pinot Noir
90 | $19
A steal for the price, this well-made red is broad and lush, with a red cherry sweetness, earthy, caramelly oak and just enough dusty tannins.
Browne Family
2017 Willamette Valley Family Vineyards Pinot Noir
88 | $20
Black-cherry fruit emerges out of this earthy wine. It’s firm and well-structured, lightly oaked, with a plum-skin grip of tannins.
A to Z Wineworks
2017 Oregon Pinot Noir
90 | $20
A to Z draws from all corners of the state to produce this balanced blend that’s foursquare and delicious, generous but not overripe, black-cherry forward, held in check by modest oak notes. A midweek pinot.
Eola Hills Wine Cellars
2016 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
90 | $20
Simple, quiet and elegant, this wine has an earthy scent and red fruit, well priced for the cocktail hour.
Browne Family
2017 Willamette Valley Heritage Pinot Noir
89 | $25
Scents of red berry and dusty cherry give way to a lean, simple and attractive wine with firm tannins.
Averaen Wines
2019 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
90 | $25
Drawn from several pedigreed Willamette Valley vineyards including Eola Springs, Nysa and Meredith Mitchell, this young wine is closed, displaying fruit pastille scents and light, lean red-cherry flavors. Simple and charming now, it should grow into itself with some cellar time.
Johan Vineyards
2019 Van Duzer Corridor Farmlands Pinot Noir
90 | $25
This young juicy-red-cherry bomb is leavened by a spicy whole-cluster element and brisk acidity—as bright as Beaujolais-Villages.
Lundeen
2018 Willamette Valley Mon Père Pinot Noir
90 | $25
Lean and angular, with a cedar and tobacco note backing up red-cherry flavors, this wine is well-balanced and spare.
Kate Arnold
2017 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
92 | $25
There’s tension between this wine’s bright, generous red fruit flavors of strawberry and its foresty scent of dried leaves and mushroom caps; for duck.
Winter’s Hill
2018 Dundee Hills Watershed Pinot Noir
92 | $25
Light scents of cranberries and raspberries open toward a crushed-fruit juiciness, with bright, vibrant acids and lean tannin. Lively now, terrific with grilled rosemary chicken.
The wines on this page were chosen by our editors, from our tastings for the April 2021 edition. After our editors made their selections, we offered wineries the opportunity to promote their Best Buy award with a bottle image and brand links.
Patrick J. Comiskey covers US wines for Wine & Spirits magazine, focusing on the Pacific Northwest, California’s Central Coast and New York’s Finger Lakes.
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This story appears in the print issue of April 2021.
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