“This is one of the best Fiddlestix Pinots I have tasted from Etude.” - Antonio Galloni

Ohhhh man, we’re busting like your March Madness brackets! Nothing to lose here, though. We’re all winners today because… ETUDE!!

Our price, the double 92 points, plus a 93 as well, and the wine! Man, it’s everything we want in a top Pinot. It’s just… AWESOME BABY (to be read in Dick Vitale voice).

Hot off the press, Wine Spectator just revisited the institutional winery, calling what they found “Etude 2.0”. Also reminding us their Pinots were “benchmarks” since the 90s, “before the category became as both expansive and hot as it is now, those wines, made by Tony Soter.”

More importantly, James Molesworth continues that, with Jon Priest as winemaker since 2002, “some people were worried the artisanal approach of Soter’s original concept would be lost in the shuffle. Fast-forward to today, and those fears have clearly proven unfounded. Priest has Etude humming along, with thought and precision. My visit here was both a fond jog down memory lane as well as a look into the future of California Pinot Noir’s potential.”

And that potential has proven IMMENSE in wines like today’s feature.

Fiddlestix isn’t just a fun word to use around your kids, it’s the name of a most excellent vineyard that happens to be directly across from the lauded Sanford and Benedict. Etude has been making fantastic wines from this site for years, along with similarly esteemed producers like Bonaccorsi, Hitching Post, Jonata, Paul Lato, and Tyler adorning their labels with this ‘California Grand Cru’ vineyard’s name.

This is a “richer style” that we found brimming with all manner of dark red and blue fruits. Strawberry jam and black cherries right up front and in your face. Gorgeous baking spices, clove, and nutmeg, some star anise sneaking in the back. A creamy texture and brisk acidity round it out, and of course, our price makes it an utterly compelling wine for the money, and it drinks way, WAY above its class. As pointed out in the reviews, the “purity” is striking on the finish. With a grilled cut of wild salmon, your favorite sauce, salad, and carbs on the side, this will truly sing.

We aren’t alone in our obsession with this - CellarTracker reviews are brimming with things like “excellent QPR” and “would buy again” and “just love this wine all around” and “tasted this about a year ago in a blind tasting of 100 domestic Pinot Noirs and this wine stood out. And then some.”

No doubt.

You will understand why when it hits your lips. Fill those Lockers up and ship ‘em out!

93 Points – Antonio Galloni’s Vinous

“The 2018 Pinot Noir Fiddlestix is rich, deep and so expressive. Dark red cherry, red plum, pipe tobacco, spice and lavender infuse the 2018 with striking depth. Low yields give the 2018 a bit more body and creaminess than I remember seeing in the past, along with more fruit depth and fewer of the wilder / gamier qualities that can be distracting. This is one of the best Fiddlestix Pinots I have tasted from Etude. Drink 2021-2030.”

92 Points – Wine & Spirits

“This wine is exceedingly well built with a cinnamon oak frame, a dark cherry scent and flavors to match. Its texture is seductive, seamless and suave. While it doesn’t seem to come from any one place, it’s delicious and polished, a wine to decant and serve with duck breast.”

92 Points – James Suckling

“Purity and beauty to this, offering cherries and bright strawberries with watermelon undertones. It’s medium-bodied with refined tannins and a fresh finish. Vivid. Drink or hold.”