2021 Meadowcroft Pinot Noir Carneros Napa Valley

One of the things we love about wine is that two bottles from the same vineyard can bear wildly different prices. 

Today’s bold, elegant Pinot Noir comes from Tom Meadowcroft, who’s been one of the premier vineyard developers and managers in Napa and Sonoma for over 35 years. He’s farmed grapes for names like Opus One, Cakebread, Duckhorn, and Stags Leap—and his 2021 Pinot hails from an important Carneros vineyard near Etude.

This site is the birthplace of some highly acclaimed single-vineyard bottlings, and this one stands shoulder to shoulder with them. As one of our wine team members put it at our tasting panel: “This is going to make a lot of people very happy.” 

A beautiful dark-ruby in the glass, this Pinot bursts with heady aromas of lush red cherries wrapped in roses, cedar, and vanilla. The layered mouthfeel plays off gentle tannins and a creamy richness to create a wine with exceptional balance and a long, satisfying finish.

Tom Meadowcroft’s nose for top sites gets him some of the best Pinot Noir from the Napa side of Carneros. The region’s rolling hills, Pacific winds, and blanket of fog join forces to ripen grapes to rich lushness while retaining fantastic vibrancy. This wine, made in a tiny 292-case quantity, is aged in perfectly judged, 25% new French oak, which provides a hint of vanilla and plenty of texture. 

It’s just the kind of sweet-fruited, round, and fresh Pinot Noir we know Wine Access members will love and regularly lavish four-plus-star reviews on.

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Acidity
• Tannin

• ABV 13.80%
• 15 mins
• Drink Up
• % Pinot Noir
• Serving temperature – 58°
• Cork