Concentrated fruit, a bit cooked and jammy. A little bit too much for me. But still a nicely crafted wine. A good example of new world pinot from California.
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Grapey, simple with some mild earthy/clay notes underneath. Some chocolate in a tootsie pop kind of way. Hints of plastic maybe. M- body, M- acid, low tannin, alcohol shows too much. Poor qpr for an $18 red although for Pinot it’s as good as you’d expect for the price. Drinkable. ~4.5/10
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Just what others have said, basic stuff but a well-made Pinot Noir- a good deal at $15 for a Pinot, although I've seen it for as high as $25 which is poor QPR. Not very deep but nice reddish berry fruit nose with defitnite black licorice and VERY light graham cracker oak. Overall very subtle, but pretty fruity palate with a nicely bitter, herbal aftertaste, surprising length. I can think of many more interesting wines for $15, but not too many Pinot Noirs at that price that are worthwhile. I'd say this is one of them.
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Good, basic Pinot. Very flavorful with notes of strawberry and vanilla. Great value for the price. Given the price and quality, I think this will be my day-to-day Pinot.
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Pintag and I agree. This was expected to be candied and crap mass-produced but it has elegance, basic pinot profile and worth $14. The poster who gave 93 is not tasting the same wine I am right now. It hasn't the sufficient body, tannin structure and length on the finish to warrant that. It has the cherry, rhubarb profile. The taster who said "sour" is not nuts. Last night this had a sour profile and I was searching for flavor and fruit but on night 2 it has come around and is quite acceptable. If this was on a restaurant list surrounded by other things like KJ Vintners Reserve and the like I'd choose this and be happy at double the price.
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The bottle we had in December was ok but this was not enjoyable. Either too young or not a good year for Monterey La Crema. Had a oiled railroad track smell & sour taste to it. Most enjoyable years were 2012/2013 purchased & drank from 2014-2015
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Was somewhat expecting a spoofy, Meiomi-like, candied Pinot (this was a gift), but this was not at all that. For a widely-distributed, high-production Cali Pinot, this is pretty well-made, showing good balance and purity of fruit. Yeah, sure, it's not the most interesting flavor profile -- young vines, maybe? -- but is actually a pretty decent representation of decent CA Pinot. I'm a little surprised it isn't sweeter and candied, because I think that is the target market for this. The last vintage I tried of this, 2011, it was indeed a candied, alcoholic mess. That said, at this price point, I'll still take small producer Willamette Valley AVA pinot all day long.
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Dried musty berries. Some floral aromas. Light-medium body but the flavor is there. Lingering finish. Acidity is pleasant and balanced. Solid stuff.
Got another bottle. This one seemed to have fresher and riper red fruit aromas than the first bottle. Again very good and an excellent value at $14 from Winestore.
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9/5/2020 - Booth_80 Likes this wine: 89 Points
A quaffer. Pleasant and savoury.
Red fruits with some salinity.
Tannins are silky but a little weak.
Simple and good.
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6/2/2020 - Shiaxonna wrote: 87 Points
Concentrated fruit, a bit cooked and jammy. A little bit too much for me. But still a nicely crafted wine. A good example of new world pinot from California.
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2/1/2020 - afields wrote:
Grapey, simple with some mild earthy/clay notes underneath. Some chocolate in a tootsie pop kind of way. Hints of plastic maybe. M- body, M- acid, low tannin, alcohol shows too much. Poor qpr for an $18 red although for Pinot it’s as good as you’d expect for the price. Drinkable. ~4.5/10
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8/27/2019 - sid_loves_wine Likes this wine: 91 Points
Just what others have said, basic stuff but a well-made Pinot Noir- a good deal at $15 for a Pinot, although I've seen it for as high as $25 which is poor QPR. Not very deep but nice reddish berry fruit nose with defitnite black licorice and VERY light graham cracker oak. Overall very subtle, but pretty fruity palate with a nicely bitter, herbal aftertaste, surprising length. I can think of many more interesting wines for $15, but not too many Pinot Noirs at that price that are worthwhile. I'd say this is one of them.
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5/12/2019 - goldgarf wrote: 84 Points
Pleasant pinot
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10/20/2018 - Sergiobear Likes this wine: 88 Points
Cherry fruit with earthy notes. Lacks a bit in the finish. Very drinkable.
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8/17/2018 - df1962 wrote: 89 Points
PnP
Nice earthiness cherry mushroom and soy sauce. Fresh finish.
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8/7/2018 - goldgarf wrote: 83 Points
Decent pinot
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8/1/2018 - CdrCabernet Likes this wine: 89 Points
Good, basic Pinot. Very flavorful with notes of strawberry and vanilla. Great value for the price. Given the price and quality, I think this will be my day-to-day Pinot.
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6/26/2018 - Lord Dave Likes this wine: 80 Points
Deesha gave it a 90
Grapefruity
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6/18/2018 - Huh wrote: 88 Points
Pintag and I agree. This was expected to be candied and crap mass-produced but it has elegance, basic pinot profile and worth $14. The poster who gave 93 is not tasting the same wine I am right now. It hasn't the sufficient body, tannin structure and length on the finish to warrant that. It has the cherry, rhubarb profile. The taster who said "sour" is not nuts. Last night this had a sour profile and I was searching for flavor and fruit but on night 2 it has come around and is quite acceptable. If this was on a restaurant list surrounded by other things like KJ Vintners Reserve and the like I'd choose this and be happy at double the price.
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2/4/2018 - cruzio32 Does not like this wine: 80 Points
The bottle we had in December was ok but this was not enjoyable. Either too young or not a good year for Monterey La Crema. Had a oiled railroad track smell & sour taste to it. Most enjoyable years were 2012/2013 purchased & drank from 2014-2015
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2/2/2018 - PIntag wrote: 88 Points
Was somewhat expecting a spoofy, Meiomi-like, candied Pinot (this was a gift), but this was not at all that. For a widely-distributed, high-production Cali Pinot, this is pretty well-made, showing good balance and purity of fruit. Yeah, sure, it's not the most interesting flavor profile -- young vines, maybe? -- but is actually a pretty decent representation of decent CA Pinot. I'm a little surprised it isn't sweeter and candied, because I think that is the target market for this. The last vintage I tried of this, 2011, it was indeed a candied, alcoholic mess. That said, at this price point, I'll still take small producer Willamette Valley AVA pinot all day long.
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12/23/2017 - goldgarf wrote: 83 Points
Decent basic pinot
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12/5/2017 - Wvittetoe Likes this wine: 93 Points
Complicated floral flavors followed by a smooth warm aftertaste. One of my new favorite pinots.
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11/21/2017 - MrGoldenSun Likes this wine: 89 Points
Dried musty berries. Some floral aromas. Light-medium body but the flavor is there. Lingering finish. Acidity is pleasant and balanced. Solid stuff.
Got another bottle. This one seemed to have fresher and riper red fruit aromas than the first bottle. Again very good and an excellent value at $14 from Winestore.
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11/1/2017 - Cakebaker Likes this wine: 80 Points
Monterey > Sonoma
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10/28/2017 - StopAndSmellTheRose wrote: 92 Points
One of our favorite pinots! Great value
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