Altogether a fine pinot, not as bad as expected. Well structured and pleasant bouquet of cherries and roses. Light but palpable structure, although this definitely has a cherry cola aspect.
It successfully avoids the major flaws of the cheapest pinots, but it does have that engineered structure and readiness that is a tad perplexing.
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Not an oenophile but this was a solid, mild wine. Drinkable with not a super high or low in taste, acidity and finish. I think a good wine for someone enjoying an everyday glass.
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Delicious. Rusty red in color with considerable legs. Cherry, oak on the nose. Soft texture. Mild cherry flavor with some spice on the finish. Great value.
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Day 1: While this is not great Pinot Noir it is very drinkable and actually has Pinot characteristics unlike that mass produced garbage from California. You know the brands. Sweet fruits featuring strawberry and dark cherry. Some spice, rose petals and earth. Acidity levels a bit lower than I like but for Thanksgiving this will please the masses. 86 points Day 2: Smoke, dark cherry, strawberry, mild spice and floral notes. Again, this is not a Pinot I would drink but it was $7.50 so of course I am going to try it. 85 points Day 4: Better and more mellow. Smoke, spice, strawberry, candied fruits and pepper. Really feels like there is some Syrah blended in here. 87 points Recommendation: Well for the $7.50 a bottle I paid worth a gamble as these have been drinkable in the past but this wine is no very good and please don't pay full retail.
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Had the 2018 a few weeks back and it was very smokey. Wanted to try the later vintage to compare.
The 2019 did not have the smoke characteristic. Paired with a cheese platter. Light cherry notes with some cedar (but not smoke!) undertones. It was a fine, if not excellent, wine that I would drink again with a meal.
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Picked up as a lower priced Pinot Noir. Expectations were low, and I found the wine to be decent but more light bodied wine for a Pinot than some others. In the mid palette and finish the wine has more unripened strawberry than ripened strawberry so perhaps this needs more time. Tasting in anticipation of a neighborhood Kentucky Derby party. For an outdoor event this weekend this would work fine. Not great but also it is not as bad as others reviewing this wine on this site suggest, and I do review a lot of wine.
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On opening, an oak barrel fell from the sky onto my head. Cigar box and leather, tannic for miles. Decanted and let rest 24 hours. The fruit came out of hiding, the oak, leather and tobacco mellowed greatly. Ok wine (for the money) after some care.
The wine looks ruby colored. The legs are slow. There is no sediment in the bottle. It smells like blackberry, fig, cedar, oak, tobacco, eucalyptus, stems, alcohol/hot and blueberry. It tastes like prune, cedar, oak, alcohol/hot, blackberry, blueberry, fig, raisin, tobacco and lavender. The body is medium. The wine has leathery texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has medium acidity.
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On opening, an oak barrel fell from the sky onto my head. Cigar box and leather, tannic for miles. Decanted and let rest 24 hours. The fruit came out of hiding, the oak, leather and tobacco mellowed greatly. Ok wine after some care.
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4/6/2024 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 70 Points
Local Wine Shop Tasting (My average score for April went way down) (Bloomington, MN): Ok this used to be drinkable but this is terrible. Not sweet but dirt and some floral notes. Where is the fruit???
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1/1/2024 - loj Likes this wine: 87 Points
Altogether a fine pinot, not as bad as expected. Well structured and pleasant bouquet of cherries and roses. Light but palpable structure, although this definitely has a cherry cola aspect.
It successfully avoids the major flaws of the cheapest pinots, but it does have that engineered structure and readiness that is a tad perplexing.
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5/19/2023 - BButts Likes this wine: 91 Points
Great vintage even in an entry level
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3/12/2023 - widgiemooltha Likes this wine: 89 Points
Not an oenophile but this was a solid, mild wine. Drinkable with not a super high or low in taste, acidity and finish. I think a good wine for someone enjoying an everyday glass.
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1/29/2023 - BButts Likes this wine: 90 Points
Good qpr
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1/22/2023 - Zuperdaave Likes this wine: 90 Points
Delicious. Rusty red in color with considerable legs. Cherry, oak on the nose. Soft texture. Mild cherry flavor with some spice on the finish. Great value.
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11/20/2022 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 87 Points
Day 1: While this is not great Pinot Noir it is very drinkable and actually has Pinot characteristics unlike that mass produced garbage from California. You know the brands. Sweet fruits featuring strawberry and dark cherry. Some spice, rose petals and earth. Acidity levels a bit lower than I like but for Thanksgiving this will please the masses. 86 points
Day 2: Smoke, dark cherry, strawberry, mild spice and floral notes. Again, this is not a Pinot I would drink but it was $7.50 so of course I am going to try it. 85 points
Day 4: Better and more mellow. Smoke, spice, strawberry, candied fruits and pepper. Really feels like there is some Syrah blended in here. 87 points
Recommendation: Well for the $7.50 a bottle I paid worth a gamble as these have been drinkable in the past but this wine is no very good and please don't pay full retail.
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11/14/2022 - Deegie Likes this wine: 86 Points
A lot of oak on the nose and only a bit less on the palate. Red and blue fruit. Not bad but not memorable either.
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9/9/2022 - angelsil@hotmail.com Likes this wine: 85 Points
Had the 2018 a few weeks back and it was very smokey. Wanted to try the later vintage to compare.
The 2019 did not have the smoke characteristic. Paired with a cheese platter. Light cherry notes with some cedar (but not smoke!) undertones. It was a fine, if not excellent, wine that I would drink again with a meal.
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7/29/2022 - CEBCO Likes this wine: 91 Points
Wine spectator
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7/22/2022 - mdt Does not like this wine: 74 Points
Red fruit and oak (too much for me) on the nose. Muted fruit, oak, tobacco, and some alcohol. Short finish mixes between sweetness and stems.
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5/3/2022 - tomoem wrote: 88 Points
Picked up as a lower priced Pinot Noir. Expectations were low, and I found the wine to be decent but more light bodied wine for a Pinot than some others. In the mid palette and finish the wine has more unripened strawberry than ripened strawberry so perhaps this needs more time. Tasting in anticipation of a neighborhood Kentucky Derby party. For an outdoor event this weekend this would work fine. Not great but also it is not as bad as others reviewing this wine on this site suggest, and I do review a lot of wine.
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1/8/2022 - Gus Tangent wrote: 78 Points
On opening, an oak barrel fell from the sky onto my head. Cigar box and leather, tannic for miles. Decanted and let rest 24 hours. The fruit came out of hiding, the oak, leather and tobacco mellowed greatly. Ok wine (for the money) after some care.
The wine looks ruby colored. The legs are slow. There is no sediment in the bottle. It smells like blackberry, fig, cedar, oak, tobacco, eucalyptus, stems, alcohol/hot and blueberry. It tastes like prune, cedar, oak, alcohol/hot, blackberry, blueberry, fig, raisin, tobacco and lavender. The body is medium. The wine has leathery texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has medium acidity.
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1/6/2022 - Gus Tangent wrote: 80 Points
On opening, an oak barrel fell from the sky onto my head. Cigar box and leather, tannic for miles. Decanted and let rest 24 hours. The fruit came out of hiding, the oak, leather and tobacco mellowed greatly. Ok wine after some care.
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