Maison Noir O.P.P. Other People's Pinot Noir 2023 750ml

André Hueston Mack was running an 1,800-label wine list at Per Se in New York before he made a drop of his own. In 2003 he had become the first African American named Best Young Sommelier in America by the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs; four years later he started a label named for the nickname he had picked up in the kitchen — Mouton Noir, the black sheep. He still draws every label himself.

O.P.P. stands for Other People's Pinot, a nod to the 1991 hip-hop single and a plain description of how the wine is made: the fruit grows in Willamette Valley vineyards Mack does not own.

In the glass it runs to cherry and red berry, with a floral top note, a dusting of ginger-like wood spice and the damp forest-floor character Oregon does better than most places. At 13.7% alcohol it stays light on its feet.

Give it twenty minutes in the fridge: around 55°F the acidity holds and the fruit stays bright. It will handle salmon, roast chicken or a mushroom risotto. At this price a lot of Oregon Pinot Noir is either thin or sanded smooth with oak; this one tastes like Pinot Noir.

Pick it up at our Brooklyn store or get same-day delivery in Brooklyn, Manhattan & Queens.