Smooth, but reminds me of an 03 Oregon Pinot - all jammy fruit and no acidity. Simple fruit flavors with a bit of cough syrup, alcohol a bit hot. Not real impressed with the wine or the price.
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After reading other reviews, was not expecting much. Decanted for an hour and the wine opend up nicely. Definitely tasted the cola and cherry and a bit of earth. Not very fruity, but a decent wine with the grilled pork chops with poblano pesto that we had for dinner.
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Almost everyone but me pegged this as the WOTN against some much more expensive wines. Nice soft fruits and a velvety smooth finish, but wasn't very complex, intelligent or unique to me.
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Not impressed with this wine. Served it at a dinner party with the Aptos Creek 2004 Pinot, and the the whole table agreed that the Aptos Creek wine blew it away. Lightweight, a little rough, not much flavor. I'd avoid.
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I used half this bottle for a red wine reduction sauce for our beef fillets, which stood up perfectly to a long cooking process (20 min) over medium heat. For anyone curious, add 2T of corn syrup and 2c of decent wine and reduce to about 3/4 cup for a great, easy steak sauce.
Very pleased with this bottle as the flavors were right up my alley (cherry and vanilla) and had a surprisingly decent finish that lasted well beyond what I expected. Unsure whether this wine was really able to separate itself between others of its ilk since it had the added benefit of complimenting the reduction sauce. Agreed with several other notes that were posted regarding this being a good, but not great value.
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Very nice pinot for its price. Dark red, almost purple color with a spicy, red fruit nose with hints of floral at the beginning. Taste of spices and red fruit with a medium buttery finish...simple yet good.
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Since having my first two bottles of this I've tried at least three different pinots that cost twice as much.............this kills all three of those. To be sure, this is a lightweight, sub $30 pinot. But what separates this one from almost every other sub $30 pinot I've had is that balance....it's just "lightweight" enough in all aspects to balance itself much more than it's peers in the market. Other than the entry level Chalone at the same price point, the next cheapest bottle of pinot I've had that I truely enjoyed cost $28. Solid B
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Opened and drank with dinner - I couldn't stand it, an overheated acid bomb. The next night, a completely different wine, and a good one. Earthy, spicy nose with black cherry, vanilla and spice on the palate. Well balanced and yummy.
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Purchased as a glass at California Pizza Kitchen. Watery fruit taste with cherry cough syrup notes; no middle and short finish. I swear the fruit taste was there to mask the burning sensation of the alcohol. One of the worst made wines that I can remember.
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Not a big Pinot guy, but enjoyed this wine, a nice, lighter change of pace over the cab blends and Southern Rhones I usually drink. I prefer reds in general, so liked this with roast chicken rather than a white, at least during the winter. Terrific value at just over $10. Nice cherry on the nose, not complex, but a simple, pleasurable straightforward red good with food.
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Nose: almost all vanilla with a distant raspberry note. Fresh taste of berries and something unique (rhubarb?). Good with country ham. Decent pinot from a steady brand.
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When the term "value pinot noir" has become an oxymoron, this stuff shines. Excellent QPR. Quite possibly the best QPR I've found this year. Thoroughly enjoyable bottle of wine. Still very inexperienced with pinot, but this tasted exactly how I would expect it to taste. It wasn't too thin at all. Earthy nose, and raspberries/strawberries on the palatte. Definitely not a long finish, but longer than one would expect at this price point. Held it's own on day 2 as well, which was quite a nice added perk. I will be picking up as much of this as I can because it may be the only time I'll ever be able to find a decent pinot for $10.
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Wonderful simple pinot noir at 10.99 USD. Paired with Magret Duck Breast and Anduoille Sausage Kabobs with a fig preserve-creole mustard sauce. Lovely meal.
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What a surprise. I must admit, I didn't want to like this wine. A second label only a couple bucks cheaper then the 1st label, produced by a company that's been enveloped by a huge company. I mean, it's not the type of wine I want to get excited about, or expect to. So imagine my surprise when this wine tasted like... pinot noir. I mean this wine could serve as the example in the "Here's the flavor profile of a standard California Pinot Noir." And hey, that's not bad. It's clean, has great acidity, is full of cherries and a little rasberry. It's simple, but at less then $20, I can't really complain. So what I can I say? There are better wines out there at the price, but this delivers all that is expected.
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Great value pinot, very typical California........ earthy pinot nose and taste profiles. I get black cherry and a bit of vanilla spice, maybe a little floral on the finish.
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Awesome for the price. Nicely balanced. Earth and dark/red fruits on the nose and palate. Way better than most <$20 PNs I have had. Not as complex as higher level PNs, but for the price, it's very good. ill go back and buy a case or more. Really needs about 30 minutes of air, and not to be served too cool.
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10/3/2010 - juneau bob wrote:
Used for cookin
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8/18/2010 - gotcu1 wrote: 84 Points
waited a little to long to drink it. still good quality wine. Acacia can always be trusted.
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7/18/2010 - juneau bob wrote: 85 Points
Ok everyday wine, light body, pie cherry and earth, slight barnyard at opening, later diminished. A little hot on the finish.
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1/19/2010 - DoubleMagnum wrote: 88 Points
There's some varietal character but for the price I expected some sense of place.
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1/6/2010 - Winiac wrote: 80 Points
Flabby with very low acid and structure. They have tried to boost it with too much oak, which did not help the situation.
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4/26/2009 - garvens wrote:
Very earthy nose.Quite fruity tasting for a Pinot. Had with salmon.
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12/24/2008 - SJ_Sharkie wrote: 85 Points
Would buy again. Everyday drinking wine. Reasonable price.
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2/28/2008 - MBannon wrote: 85 Points
Smooth, but reminds me of an 03 Oregon Pinot - all jammy fruit and no acidity. Simple fruit flavors with a bit of cough syrup, alcohol a bit hot. Not real impressed with the wine or the price.
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1/6/2008 - bayouwino wrote:
After reading other reviews, was not expecting much. Decanted for an hour and the wine opend up nicely. Definitely tasted the cola and cherry and a bit of earth. Not very fruity, but a decent wine with the grilled pork chops with poblano pesto that we had for dinner.
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12/2/2007 - mwagner7700 wrote: 87 Points
Nothing memorable. Nose of cherry, cola and burnt oak. Not bad for $14. 86-88 points.
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12/1/2007 - skiwine wrote:
2.75 - OK. Better than the Estancia. A little harsh, including after taste.
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11/17/2007 - Kellious wrote: 85 Points
Cranberry, strawberry, some hay and barn yard. A good everyday, value-driven Pinot.
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11/17/2007 - TonyH wrote: 87 Points
Light Clear Red
Cherry Cola, Clear and Juicy with Cherry candy flavors and a tart finish.
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11/15/2007 - cornell100 wrote: 87 Points
Decent Pinor Noir for the price.
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11/4/2007 - GrandeSerataFuori wrote: 86 Points
Almost everyone but me pegged this as the WOTN against some much more expensive wines. Nice soft fruits and a velvety smooth finish, but wasn't very complex, intelligent or unique to me.
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10/30/2007 - Vino Me wrote: 86 Points
Retailer tasting. Had a little more going on than the Chalone. Simple at first but showed some red fruit and smoky notes on the finish. 86 points.
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10/27/2007 - rcc777 wrote: 75 Points
Not impressed with this wine. Served it at a dinner party with the Aptos Creek 2004 Pinot, and the the whole table agreed that the Aptos Creek wine blew it away. Lightweight, a little rough, not much flavor. I'd avoid.
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10/21/2007 - Dulcie and Aylwin wrote:
I can't share the enthusiasm of other tasters. This seemed to have a funky nose and lacked varietal character. AVOID was my big reminder.
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10/5/2007 - rscott wrote: 87 Points
It's light to medium bodied, fruits a bit muted but well balanced. not as good as the nemed label (Acacia) but a strong value. Good Everyday pinot.
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10/2/2007 - andrewbarbera wrote: 85 Points
great value wine
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8/4/2007 - acchrist0 wrote: 87 Points
I used half this bottle for a red wine reduction sauce for our beef fillets, which stood up perfectly to a long cooking process (20 min) over medium heat. For anyone curious, add 2T of corn syrup and 2c of decent wine and reduce to about 3/4 cup for a great, easy steak sauce.
Very pleased with this bottle as the flavors were right up my alley (cherry and vanilla) and had a surprisingly decent finish that lasted well beyond what I expected. Unsure whether this wine was really able to separate itself between others of its ilk since it had the added benefit of complimenting the reduction sauce. Agreed with several other notes that were posted regarding this being a good, but not great value.
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7/18/2007 - jonb72 wrote: 88 Points
good qpr, nice berries, went well with volcanic choccolate cake and cherries
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7/10/2007 - darice wrote: 86 Points
Very nice pinot for its price. Dark red, almost purple color with a spicy, red fruit nose with hints of floral at the beginning. Taste of spices and red fruit with a medium buttery finish...simple yet good.
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6/24/2007 - JonnyB wrote: 85 Points
good, well balanced.......lightweight without much nose but better than others at this price range.
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5/12/2007 - WagesOfZin wrote:
Since having my first two bottles of this I've tried at least three different pinots that cost twice as much.............this kills all three of those. To be sure, this is a lightweight, sub $30 pinot. But what separates this one from almost every other sub $30 pinot I've had is that balance....it's just "lightweight" enough in all aspects to balance itself much more than it's peers in the market. Other than the entry level Chalone at the same price point, the next cheapest bottle of pinot I've had that I truely enjoyed cost $28. Solid B
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5/9/2007 - Cahill wrote: 88 Points
Opened and drank with dinner - I couldn't stand it, an overheated acid bomb. The next night, a completely different wine, and a good one. Earthy, spicy nose with black cherry, vanilla and spice on the palate. Well balanced and yummy.
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5/3/2007 - tanglenet wrote:
Purchased as a glass at California Pizza Kitchen. Watery fruit taste with cherry cough syrup notes; no middle and short finish. I swear the fruit taste was there to mask the burning sensation of the alcohol. One of the worst made wines that I can remember.
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4/22/2007 - pfitzer wrote: 85 Points
Good flavor, nice fruity taste, good value for the money
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4/16/2007 - Maverick wrote: 85 Points
SImple and Straightforward. Light Cherry. Lacked anything substantial but pretty good value--not a great value.
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3/2/2007 - Big J wrote: 89 Points
great value in a Pinot Noir for everyday drinker.
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2/23/2007 - Ibetian wrote: 86 Points
Not a big Pinot guy, but enjoyed this wine, a nice, lighter change of pace over the cab blends and Southern Rhones I usually drink. I prefer reds in general, so liked this with roast chicken rather than a white, at least during the winter. Terrific value at just over $10. Nice cherry on the nose, not complex, but a simple, pleasurable straightforward red good with food.
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2/3/2007 - Lando wrote: 85 Points
Nose: almost all vanilla with a distant raspberry note. Fresh taste of berries and something unique (rhubarb?). Good with country ham. Decent pinot from a steady brand.
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2/2/2007 - WagesOfZin wrote: 86 Points
Not as enjoyable as the first bottle.......at least not on day 1. On day 2 it was actually quite good when paired with some beef curry and rice.
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1/20/2007 - williwine wrote: 82 Points
not great
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1/14/2007 - WagesOfZin wrote: 89 Points
When the term "value pinot noir" has become an oxymoron, this stuff shines. Excellent QPR. Quite possibly the best QPR I've found this year. Thoroughly enjoyable bottle of wine. Still very inexperienced with pinot, but this tasted exactly how I would expect it to taste. It wasn't too thin at all. Earthy nose, and raspberries/strawberries on the palatte. Definitely not a long finish, but longer than one would expect at this price point. Held it's own on day 2 as well, which was quite a nice added perk. I will be picking up as much of this as I can because it may be the only time I'll ever be able to find a decent pinot for $10.
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1/10/2007 - roberbi wrote:
really good
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12/27/2006 - PatrickFLL wrote:
Wonderful simple pinot noir at 10.99 USD. Paired with Magret Duck Breast and Anduoille Sausage Kabobs with a fig preserve-creole mustard sauce. Lovely meal.
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12/26/2006 - Ella's Dad wrote: 86 Points
Decent pinot for the price. Should consider buying again at $11.99.
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12/1/2006 - hutch wrote: 86 Points
What a surprise. I must admit, I didn't want to like this wine. A second label only a couple bucks cheaper then the 1st label, produced by a company that's been enveloped by a huge company. I mean, it's not the type of wine I want to get excited about, or expect to. So imagine my surprise when this wine tasted like... pinot noir. I mean this wine could serve as the example in the "Here's the flavor profile of a standard California Pinot Noir." And hey, that's not bad. It's clean, has great acidity, is full of cherries and a little rasberry. It's simple, but at less then $20, I can't really complain. So what I can I say? There are better wines out there at the price, but this delivers all that is expected.
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11/16/2006 - andrewbarbera wrote: 86 Points
Great value pinot, very typical California........ earthy pinot nose and taste profiles. I get black cherry and a bit of vanilla spice, maybe a little floral on the finish.
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11/1/2006 - Maverick wrote: 85 Points
Good Value.
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10/22/2006 - shaneajohnson wrote: 87 Points
Awesome for the price. Nicely balanced. Earth and dark/red fruits on the nose and palate. Way better than most <$20 PNs I have had. Not as complex as higher level PNs, but for the price, it's very good. ill go back and buy a case or more. Really needs about 30 minutes of air, and not to be served too cool.
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