Mount Eden Estate Pinot Noir is a benchmark California Pinot Noir sourced from a historic seven-acre estate vineyard high in the Santa Cruz Mountains, first planted in 1945 by legendary vintner Martin Ray. The budwood traces its lineage to Paul Masson's original California vines, which are believed to descend from cuttings brought from Burgundy by Masson during the 1880s, giving Mount Eden one of the longest Pinot Noir lineages in North America.

The estate sits on Franciscan shale at elevation, 15 miles from the Pacific Ocean and above the fog line, where cool, sunny conditions and naturally low yields — typically just one to one-and-a-half tons per acre — allow for slow, steady grape maturation and exceptional flavor concentration. Vines are vertically trained and crop-thinned to maximize sun exposure on clusters.

Fermentation is conducted using native yeasts in small open-top fermentors over ten to fourteen days, with the must punched down by hand. The wine is then aged for eighteen months in 75% new and 25% one-year-old French Burgundy barrels, and bottled unfined and unfiltered. The resulting wine displays an elegant, Burgundian character — transparent and refined — with aromas and flavors of wild strawberry, blueberry, earth, dill, and subtle spice. The finish is long and structured. Cellaring five to twelve years is recommended to fully develop its complexity.