We drank the first of our two bottles 5-1/2 years ago. I guess this got lost in the cellar. The issues I had with balance did resolve themselves but it was still somewhat simple and not near as stunning as the William Selyem we drank before it. Still not bad and we were able to enjoy it with some food (corned beef). It’s more old world style lended itself well to the meal.
If you still have any of this, drink it now. It’s on its way down.
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Nose is horse manure and bell pepper and some chemically note I can't quite identify. The taste is mostly sour, with some barnyard and pepper, but mostly just sour fruit with stems on top. It does improve with 4-5 hours of air, but I'm just not digging this. The closest thing this reminds me of what that disastrous Dois Irmaos/Garagiste mystery PN from years back, though it's not as bad as that.
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Sour. Very limited fruit. Little to no residual sweetness. OK to drink, but not much fun, and not comparable to other low price pinots, such as Hahn SLH.
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On the nose - overwhelming horse manure and burnt rubber, but under all that is an indistinct red fruit. It tastes better than it smells - mainly cranberry and a lesser amount of manure.
Its not very well structured, light and low complexity.
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Day 2. As it turns out I did not pour it out. The rubber is gone and the oak is integrated now. The wine came around a bit over a day but at the cost of the fruit, berries. Finish is shorter. My wife that hated it yesterday was okey with it today. Poured the rest in a freezer bag and froze it for a red wine sauce at some point.
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The wine looks ruby colored. The legs are slow. There is no sediment in the bottle. It tastes like strawberry, raspberry, oak, vanilla, rubbery and tobacco. The body is light/medium. The wine has bright texture. The wine finishes long. The wine has medium acidity. Another gifted wine from someone that does not like me I guess. At first pour almost no nose. Sterile, took a sip, not happy. Tasted like rubber, tobacco, oak. Just a bad fxxxn combo. My wife took a sip and went to pour the bottle down the sink. I stopped her. I put the glass down helped my kid with some homework. Came back to the glass, still no nose. Took a sip, still rubber etc but a bit of pleasant strawberry, raspberry came around and the tiniest hint of an overall drinkability. Now 1.5 hour in the glass ( you know it's bad when a glass last 1.5 hours) there is a tiny bit of fruity, strawberry nose. The wine is thin but the rubber is at least gone. Surprisingly long after taste, the after taste is stronger then the wine while drinking it. The alcohol kind of lifts the bit of goodness that is in there. Would never buy it and I will pour it down the sink.
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Earthy funky nose, mushrooms and detritus. On the palate: cranberries, subtle oak, slight green notes. Super soft tannins. Great balance, goes down smooth - very nice!
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Exactly what a $15 pinot should deliver: bright cherries, a healthy dose of dirt/barn, and a medium length and acidity that keeps your palate clean to come back for more. Earth-shattering? No. Just right.
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A simple wine and somewhat light on fruit but quite enjoyable. The nose is tight with red berries and hint of mushroom and soil. Medium bodied with the palate offering tobacco, raspberry, cherry, and wet soil. There is hint of sweetness at mid-palate. Low acidity and tannins and low/medium finish that is nicely rounded.
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What a disappointment! No fruit, unbalanced with cigar box notes and an unpleasant dry finish. Was better with food. Light to medium weight and poor flavor profile. No nose to speak of. Don't know how it got rave reviews from some professional tasters and the push from retailers. Glad only got one unit to try.
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I saw lots of mixed reviews on this wine prior to drinking and so I decided to keep an open mind and kept it blind to my Pinot loving wife. The nose was subdued with some black cherry, cigar box and some cocoa. There was virtually no fruit on the palate, with tobacco and a slate/mineral finish. All of this was very good but the wine was off-balanced, somewhat acidic and this made for a bit of unpleasantness. It might resolve itself with time but this seems to be it's greatest blemish. Otherwise I would have sworn I was drinking an Oregon Pinot. In summary, given the price I think it is a great value. If you like big California Pinots, you probably gave it a low rating. If you like a more rugged, old-world Pinot then you probably gave this a higher rating. Me, I like this style and if time can balance it out and make it more round then it might even hit a 90. Time will tell. I have one more of these so let us see.
Oh yea, the wife liked it too and came up with 88 as her rating.
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Easy drinking and fruit forward crowd pleaser. Went well with the roast pork belly. First time trying a Chilean pinot noir. Would not have second guessed it if someone told me it was a $20 bottle of wine from Santa Barbara. Good QPR at $13
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Not sure if bottle variation or what, but this bottle was pretty weak. Tart, angular, not much fruit. Didn't seem at all as good as the previous bottles.
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An amazing value for the money. Pop and pour and you taste a fruit forward pinot noir with cherry and strawberry notes. Not much complexity with secondary flavors but very enjoyable to drink.
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Strawberry notes heavy upfront for a Pinot, but finishes softly and surprisingly not that bad. Probably will not order again, but not disappointed either.
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Frivolous but fun. Clean, light, spicy, and immensely quaffable. I think the 14.5% alcohol is a joke, we drank the whole bottle easily in one sitting with barely a buzz.
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Dark ruby but not so dark as to be unrecognizable as a pinot. Very serious, heady nose of a pinot that definitely has aspirations: smoke, spice, blood, and meat are dominant. You can tell from the first sniff that you're going to enjoy this if you like "big" pinot noirs. Generous mouthfeel that persists. Flavors of roasted (charred) chestnuts, cola syrup, and a bit of candy apple (but not sweet, if that makes sense). Just a bit of gentle tannin. The only fault I find is that there is a bit too much of a roasted, bass note, oakiness overpowering the rest. Still, a lot of people are going to like this wine a lot.
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Good bouquet and that is it. Too much wood or something gives the wine an off taste. Tart fruit. Tasted repeatedly during dinner with no improvement. My wife did not find it that bad. Won't be buying again.
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A nose of cherry and some spice, medium ruby in color. A medium bodied red, with black cherry, strawberry, some cinnamon and spice on finish, nothing special. www.winelx.com
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Faint nose, medium color. Very New World style Pinot, with strong fruit forward flavors - mostly cherry - mild tannins, and a short finish. This is all about jammy fruit; tastes a bit like Smith Brothers cherry cough drops. Has fairly good depth, but not much complexity. If you like very fruity Pinot Noir, with a sweetish tinge, you may like this. Not for long keeping. When the fruit fades, there will be nothing left. I would give this a pass.
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Tart cherry and raspberry red fruit - and not much else. Needs 1+ year bottle age to settle down and show better. The 2012 vintage seems to have been better. Was best with Indian food / cumin spice (90 points), which is a terrific pairing and brought out more complexity. Drink now with Indian food or wait. (20 views)
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Tart cherry and raspberry red fruit - and not much else. Needs 1+ year bottle age to settle down and show better. The 2012 vintage seems to have been better. Was best with Indian food / cumin spice (90 points), which is a terrific pairing and brought out more complexity. Drink now with Indian food or wait.
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11/21/2020 - Sheldog wrote: 87 Points
We drank the first of our two bottles 5-1/2 years ago. I guess this got lost in the cellar. The issues I had with balance did resolve themselves but it was still somewhat simple and not near as stunning as the William Selyem we drank before it. Still not bad and we were able to enjoy it with some food (corned beef). It’s more old world style lended itself well to the meal.
If you still have any of this, drink it now. It’s on its way down.
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4/18/2020 - Quarked wrote: 84 Points
Nose is horse manure and bell pepper and some chemically note I can't quite identify. The taste is mostly sour, with some barnyard and pepper, but mostly just sour fruit with stems on top. It does improve with 4-5 hours of air, but I'm just not digging this. The closest thing this reminds me of what that disastrous Dois Irmaos/Garagiste mystery PN from years back, though it's not as bad as that.
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8/27/2017 - mac-eye Does not like this wine: 85 Points
Sour. Very limited fruit. Little to no residual sweetness. OK to drink, but not much fun, and not comparable to other low price pinots, such as Hahn SLH.
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1/30/2017 - erekose wrote: 87 Points
On the nose - overwhelming horse manure and burnt rubber, but under all that is an indistinct red fruit. It tastes better than it smells - mainly cranberry and a lesser amount of manure.
Its not very well structured, light and low complexity.
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9/30/2016 - laetulos wrote: 87 Points
This was fine. Paled compared to the CA pinot that we had first, but it 'wasn't bad at all,'
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7/26/2016 - firstgrowth Likes this wine: 90 Points
Didn't stand out at Jack baseball Tourn San Diego, but I thought it great
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6/10/2016 - kronfeld Likes this wine:
Pinot noir tasting. This was the only new-world that held a candle to the Burgundies. Has the barnyard nose of a burgundy. Incredible QPR.
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6/3/2016 - rcl1 wrote: 92 Points
Had at dinner with Len and Lisa. Excellent. Decanted for 30 min.
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5/17/2016 - Cellartracker@drkayem.com Likes this wine: 87 Points
A nice light Pinot, with a distinct black cherry sweetness combined with an earthy truffle aroma. Excellent value.
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2/7/2016 - Golf_Wine wrote:
Day 2. As it turns out I did not pour it out. The rubber is gone and the oak is integrated now. The wine came around a bit over a day but at the cost of the fruit, berries. Finish is shorter. My wife that hated it yesterday was okey with it today. Poured the rest in a freezer bag and froze it for a red wine sauce at some point.
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2/4/2016 - Golf_Wine Does not like this wine: 75 Points
The wine looks ruby colored. The legs are slow. There is no sediment in the bottle. It tastes like strawberry, raspberry, oak, vanilla, rubbery and tobacco. The body is light/medium. The wine has bright texture. The wine finishes long. The wine has medium acidity. Another gifted wine from someone that does not like me I guess. At first pour almost no nose. Sterile, took a sip, not happy. Tasted like rubber, tobacco, oak. Just a bad fxxxn combo. My wife took a sip and went to pour the bottle down the sink. I stopped her. I put the glass down helped my kid with some homework. Came back to the glass, still no nose. Took a sip, still rubber etc but a bit of pleasant strawberry, raspberry came around and the tiniest hint of an overall drinkability. Now 1.5 hour in the glass ( you know it's bad when a glass last 1.5 hours) there is a tiny bit of fruity, strawberry nose. The wine is thin but the rubber is at least gone. Surprisingly long after taste, the after taste is stronger then the wine while drinking it. The alcohol kind of lifts the bit of goodness that is in there. Would never buy it and I will pour it down the sink.
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2/2/2016 - davidspieker wrote: 89 Points
Funk and dark cherry aromas. Dark cherry and subtle oak flavors with nice balance and finish. Great value.
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9/19/2015 - rgawlowski Likes this wine: 90 Points
Very impressive for value. Earthy, oaky, but very smooth. Excellent Pinot for the money.
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8/17/2015 - StoneMonkeyKing Likes this wine: 91 Points
Earthy funky nose, mushrooms and detritus. On the palate: cranberries, subtle oak, slight green notes. Super soft tannins. Great balance, goes down smooth - very nice!
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8/8/2015 - BadOyster wrote: 90 Points
Exactly what a $15 pinot should deliver: bright cherries, a healthy dose of dirt/barn, and a medium length and acidity that keeps your palate clean to come back for more. Earth-shattering? No. Just right.
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8/8/2015 - Jeffsta wrote: 90 Points
Buy this one by the case if you need an inexpensive Pinot Noir - there's none better under $25-$30.
First impression is that the wine has all the variety correctness of a Central Otago Pinot, notes of forest floor and cow's blood.
Plush black fruit of a low-end Pinot from a top Russian River producer.
Acid backbone of a good San Luis Obispo/Santa Barbara Pinot.
Has the stuffing to last another couple years at least.
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7/19/2015 - dfitzg2 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Light but complex and interesting.
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5/24/2015 - darends wrote: 91 Points
cherry color red fruits, berries Soft tannins but more than other Pinot Noirs. Fresh fruit (rasberries, black cherries buy 2-3 more and age 2017
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4/26/2015 - barryjahan wrote: 81 Points
Nice fruits
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4/26/2015 - samoss wrote: 87 Points
Nice bouquet. Good balance of acid, fruit and tannin.
Will buy again.
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4/24/2015 - Fat Lips Likes this wine: 87 Points
A simple wine and somewhat light on fruit but quite enjoyable. The nose is tight with red berries and hint of mushroom and soil. Medium bodied with the palate offering tobacco, raspberry, cherry, and wet soil. There is hint of sweetness at mid-palate. Low acidity and tannins and low/medium finish that is nicely rounded.
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4/12/2015 - Kentw Does not like this wine: 82 Points
What a disappointment! No fruit, unbalanced with cigar box notes and an unpleasant dry finish. Was better with food. Light to medium weight and poor flavor profile. No nose to speak of. Don't know how it got rave reviews from some professional tasters and the push from retailers. Glad only got one unit to try.
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3/22/2015 - Sheldog Likes this wine: 87 Points
I saw lots of mixed reviews on this wine prior to drinking and so I decided to keep an open mind and kept it blind to my Pinot loving wife. The nose was subdued with some black cherry, cigar box and some cocoa. There was virtually no fruit on the palate, with tobacco and a slate/mineral finish. All of this was very good but the wine was off-balanced, somewhat acidic and this made for a bit of unpleasantness. It might resolve itself with time but this seems to be it's greatest blemish. Otherwise I would have sworn I was drinking an Oregon Pinot. In summary, given the price I think it is a great value. If you like big California Pinots, you probably gave it a low rating. If you like a more rugged, old-world Pinot then you probably gave this a higher rating. Me, I like this style and if time can balance it out and make it more round then it might even hit a 90. Time will tell. I have one more of these so let us see.
Oh yea, the wife liked it too and came up with 88 as her rating.
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3/13/2015 - Vietty Likes this wine:
Easy drinking and fruit forward crowd pleaser. Went well with the roast pork belly. First time trying a Chilean pinot noir. Would not have second guessed it if someone told me it was a $20 bottle of wine from Santa Barbara. Good QPR at $13
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3/7/2015 - LeChapeau wrote: 84 Points
Not sure if bottle variation or what, but this bottle was pretty weak. Tart, angular, not much fruit. Didn't seem at all as good as the previous bottles.
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2/1/2015 - Schiffy Likes this wine: 90 Points
An amazing value for the money. Pop and pour and you taste a fruit forward pinot noir with cherry and strawberry notes. Not much complexity with secondary flavors but very enjoyable to drink.
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2/1/2015 - PimpDaddy2Kool wrote:
"This gives competition to Sea Smoke pinot but at half to one-third the price. Drink now." - 94 Points - James Suckling
Seriously????? This is EXACTLY why I don't pay any attention to any of James Suckling's reviews.
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1/15/2015 - johnnywine72 Likes this wine: 88 Points
I think this is a great little pinot for the price. Nice acidity, great red cherry on the front of your pallet and a decent finish.
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1/10/2015 - rcl1 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Was good.
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1/2/2015 - IWillyWikeWine Likes this wine: 86 Points
Strawberry notes heavy upfront for a Pinot, but finishes softly and surprisingly not that bad. Probably will not order again, but not disappointed either.
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1/1/2015 - bianca15 Likes this wine: 87 Points
A nice pinot. Good bouquet. Nice flavors.
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12/14/2014 - Caligrrl Likes this wine:
Good value for an everyday pinot
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12/12/2014 - robmatic wrote: 89 Points
Frivolous but fun. Clean, light, spicy, and immensely quaffable. I think the 14.5% alcohol is a joke, we drank the whole bottle easily in one sitting with barely a buzz.
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12/7/2014 - Shrages wrote: 92 Points
Dark ruby but not so dark as to be unrecognizable as a pinot. Very serious, heady nose of a pinot that definitely has aspirations: smoke, spice, blood, and meat are dominant. You can tell from the first sniff that you're going to enjoy this if you like "big" pinot noirs. Generous mouthfeel that persists. Flavors of roasted (charred) chestnuts, cola syrup, and a bit of candy apple (but not sweet, if that makes sense). Just a bit of gentle tannin. The only fault I find is that there is a bit too much of a roasted, bass note, oakiness overpowering the rest. Still, a lot of people are going to like this wine a lot.
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11/23/2014 - patsox wrote: 83 Points
A little different, but not in a great way.
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11/14/2014 - Caligrrl wrote: flawed
Corked
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11/14/2014 - mwneil Does not like this wine: 80 Points
Good bouquet and that is it. Too much wood or something gives the wine an off taste. Tart fruit. Tasted repeatedly during dinner with no improvement. My wife did not find it that bad. Won't be buying again.
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11/7/2014 - corkscrews wrote:
A nose of cherry and some spice, medium ruby in color. A medium bodied red, with black cherry, strawberry, some cinnamon and spice on finish, nothing special. www.winelx.com
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11/2/2014 - daver852 wrote: 84 Points
Faint nose, medium color. Very New World style Pinot, with strong fruit forward flavors - mostly cherry - mild tannins, and a short finish. This is all about jammy fruit; tastes a bit like Smith Brothers cherry cough drops. Has fairly good depth, but not much complexity. If you like very fruity Pinot Noir, with a sweetish tinge, you may like this. Not for long keeping. When the fruit fades, there will be nothing left. I would give this a pass.
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10/30/2014 - rcl1 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Really good and lucious!
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10/2/2014 - gotcu1 wrote: 85 Points
confused and overly toasted. it does relax. wont purchase again.
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9/26/2014 - wtb375 wrote: 70 Points
DID NOT LIKE AT ALL
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9/8/2014 - TashNYC wrote: 86 Points
Tart cherry and raspberry red fruit - and not much else. Needs 1+ year bottle age to settle down and show better. The 2012 vintage seems to have been better. Was best with Indian food / cumin spice (90 points), which is a terrific pairing and brought out more complexity. Drink now with Indian food or wait. (20 views)
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9/6/2014 - TashNYC wrote: 86 Points
Tart cherry and raspberry red fruit - and not much else. Needs 1+ year bottle age to settle down and show better. The 2012 vintage seems to have been better. Was best with Indian food / cumin spice (90 points), which is a terrific pairing and brought out more complexity. Drink now with Indian food or wait.
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