Looking for light, breezy, coastal Californian Pinot?

Well, this ain’t it.

If you’re more into the full-throttle, hedonistic, lavish style that still brings in all the elegance and class you hope for in a “top shelfer,” this is the one for you.

Guarachi always brings the heat, with top notch sourcing, winemaking, and as usual, big scores. This one is no exception.

Critical acclaim (to the tune of 96 points from Tasting Panel)? SCORE!

We’ve become big fans of Guarachi here at Wine Spies HQ, because they continually produce sure-bets like this single-vineyard 2021 Pinot. If you liked the Domaine Della or Kelly Fox, this fits right in between those in style. And clocking in a hair over 50% OFF makes it a heluva deal.

Founder Alex Guarachi had his sights (and feet) set on a professional soccer career, when he suffered an unfortunate injury during a university championship game. Looking for an alternative to regularly getting hurt, he eventually found himself importing Chilean wine and getting a feel for what makes truly world class bottlings. He launched Guarachi Family Wines in 2007 and then decided that in order to get the quality levels he truly envisioned, he needed total control from vine to glass. So, in 2013 he purchased Sun Chase Vineyard in the Petaluma Gap.

Talk about a SCORE. It turns out that Sunchase, at 1,400 feet above the valley floor, is the highest elevation vineyard in the Petaluma Gap, benefitting from all of its amazing cool maritime influences—which Pinot Noir vines happen to LOVE.

In another fabulous score, Guarachi landed Julian Gonzalez to take the lead on making his wines. If that name sounds a bit familiar, it’s because Gonzalez was Lead Winemaker for all Paul Hobbs Consulting programs from 2007 to 2016. Working with the master Hobbs, Gonzalez (who also spent some time at Dominus Estate) has multiple perfect-scoring, 100 point wines under his belt.

The biggest score in all of this is the wine itself. Folks, words do not do the nose justice… but we’ll try! The purity of the floral aromas alone is mind-boggling: rose petals, violets, tea leaves, all underscored by brambly raspberry fruit that’s at once refined and also wild. In the mouth? One shot after another, drilling straight lasers of plush red berry fruit - candied raspberry, red whips, and juicy red cherry, with spectacular acidity, subtle and well-integrated oak notes, and a thread of elegant minerality. Total class, perfectly aged, and drinking like a champion.

Time for you to score, Pinot lovers. Just stock up before we run out!

96 Points – Tasting Panel “This high-elevation site experiences a maritime climate and wind but plenty of sunlight above the fog line. Despite its high ABV of 14.8%, this red comes off as balanced, with generous entry to full-bodied elegance exhibited by notes of dark cherry and chocolate. The mouthfeel defines sexiness as it romances the palate with fine-drawn viscosity. As the wine spreads out across the palate, minerality acts as a bridge to dark fruit and savory notes of soy sauce and earth.”