2024 Divergence Signature Pinot Noir | 92pts

I opened this bottle live on Wine Wednesday, so this was a true first impression. Jeff Moote’s first-ever Pinot Noir, from the Bock Vineyard on St. David’s Bench. And I’ve got to say, this is a very promising beginning!

We had been having a lot of fun with the word “Pinosity” during our weekend in Prince Edward County. For me, that’s the unmistakable Old World character of Pinot Noir: earthiness, mushroom, wet forest floor, flowers, and little touches of tobacco and cedar. This wine has that Pinosity. On the nose AND on the palate.

This is a wine of elegance. At only 12% alcohol, it’s lighter in texture and fruit expression, but there’s beautiful definition in the tannins, lovely edges, length, and complexity. It reminded me of some of the elegant St. David’s Bench Pinots I’ve loved from Thomas Bachelder. Not a direct comparison, but that same sense of finesse is there.

At $59, we’re certainly in the premium category, but single-vineyard Niagara Pinot of this quality is becoming harder to find at a modest price.

This is still very young, and I would give it a couple of years in the cellar to let everything come together. That said, I was more than impressed straight out of the bottle. I started at 92 points, with plenty of interest in seeing how it will evolve over the following days. A very exciting start for Jeff’s Pinot Noir program! (Carl Boucher, tasted live October 21, 2026).

92pts Carl’s Wine Club

Bock Vineyard, ON Niagara Peninsula, St. David's Bench VQA

100% Pinot Noir

Pairings: cedar-planked salmon, mushroom risotto

Drink now until 2032