de Lancellotti Pinot Noir Willamette Valley

Willamette Valley Pinot Noir sits between Burgundy and California in style: red cherry and cranberry fruit rather than dark berry, a distinctly savoury, earthy undertone often described as forest floor or mushroom, fine-grained tannin and bright acidity. It is more structured and less overtly sweet-fruited than most Californian Pinot — if you have found California bottles too jammy, this is the direction to move in. Browse the full Oregon wine selection for the rest of the region.

It is the most food-flexible red on the shelf. Salmon and other oily fish, duck, roast chicken, mushroom dishes, and anything with earthy or umami weight. Its low tannin means it will not clash with lean white meat, which is why Pinot is the standard recommendation for the Thanksgiving table. It also handles soft and washed-rind cheeses better than a tannic red does.

60–65°F, which in a normal heated room means about twenty minutes in the fridge before pouring. This matters more for Pinot Noir than for almost any other red: served at typical room temperature it tastes flabby and alcoholic and the aromatics collapse. Slightly too cold is a much smaller error than slightly too warm.

Not usually. Pinot Noir is delicate and prolonged aeration can strip the aromatics rather than open them up. Pour it, give it fifteen or twenty minutes in the glass, and it will show you everything it has. If you want to decant, use a narrow decanter and keep it under half an hour.

Oregon is cooler and wetter, so the wines keep more acid and show more savoury character; California is warmer, so the wines are riper, rounder and darker-fruited. Neither is better — they are different tools. Compare it directly with something like Gary Farrell Pinot Noir Russian River Selection ($43.99) from Russian River, or explore the Californian Pinot Noir collection for the other side of the comparison.

Unopened and stored on its side somewhere cool and dark, this will drink well for several years and gain complexity over the first three to five. Once opened, recork it, put it in the fridge, and drink it within two to three days — Pinot's delicacy means it fades faster after opening than a bigger red like Seghesio Family Vineyards Zinfandel Sonoma County ($26.09) does.