skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Price: 12.98 @ Gary's Liquors
Recommended by: a "best value" wine at Gary's
Comments: Karie was in the mood for a Pinot tonight, so we picked up this relatively inexpensive Monterey County one. We knew nothing about except the sign at Gary's said that it was a "best value" wine. It has a nice cherry flavor, but it doesn't have a ton of depth. It's not one that stands out but will do in a pinch.
Rating: 6/10
Price: $8.99 @ Luke's Liquors
Recommended by: the price
Comments: Paying less than $10 for a domestic Pinot Noir is a little scary. When Rob poured the wine into the decanter, we were not reassured. It looked a bit watery. The initial taste wasn't bad, however. But that's as good as the wine got. It has light flavors of strawberry and cherry, but there is little spice to give it an extra oomph. We will not be in a hurry to try this again.
Rating: 5/10
Price: ~$15.00
Recommended by: wine seller at Wine & Spirits in Hingham
Comments: We had this wine a few years ago, and we liked it so much that we bought another bottle and saved it. Tonight, after another chapter of Rob's book has been written, we opened it, wondering whether we would like it as much as we did when we first tried it. We were not disappointed. The wine opens with a burst of cherry and raspberry flavors, along with hints of cinnamon, and the yummy flavor lingers long after you take your initial sip. This is a fantastic, complex wine and our favorite pinot noir to date. It is a bit hard to find, unfortunately. (The photo says syrah -- we could not find a photo of the pinot.)
Rating: 8.5/10
Price: $13.99 (Downeast Beverage Co., Portland, Maine)
Recommended by: wine chick at Downeast Beverage
Comments: This wine came highly recommended for a California pinot, even though the wine chick preferred Oregon/Washington pinots. It has a nice cherry and cranberry flavor with a tart, peppery finish. We found it decent but not exceptional. We haven't had many pinots, so we don't have much with which to compare it. One site recommended to pair it with an appetizer of pate & smoked salmon, with broiled portobello mushrooms with garlic. Maybe we should try that next time!
Rating: 6.25/10
Price: $14.99 (@ The Wine Gallery)
Recommended by: The Wine Jukebox tasting carousel of happiness
Tasting notes: This is a bright, fruity smooth wine (the winemaker says "an aroma of mixed red berry fruit dominated by strawberries and black currants"). The mixed berries dominate the palate. We only drank one bottle, but we're sure that the third bottle would taste just as smooth and delicious. One of the better pinots we've had.
Rating: 7/10
Price: $12.00
Tasting notes: We picked this wine from a sale bin at the local wine shop, so we decided to give it a try. It was a mediocre Pinot. It was better than Rex Goliath, but we're not in a hurry to purchase this Oregon product again. Writer's Block is still our favorite Pinot Noir (review of this wine to come) -- just a few $$ more.
Rating: 5.5/10
Price: 12.98 @ Gary's Liquors 
