Very light coloring. Good, solid body in the initial tasting, but the finish is weak to non-existent. Can't knock it for the price, but in the future I would definitely pair it with food.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
17th Annual Central Carolina Food and Wine Festival (Medallion Center, Columbia, SC.): Even the value priced guys get one right every once in a while. It may be the 2007 vintage made a star out of everyone, but this one came out pretty good. It is from the Russian River. The color is light, it is only medium bodied at best. What it has going for it, is lots of true Pinot Noir flavor. At first sniff and taste, I got enough gamy, meaty, spicy flavors and aromas to think about giving it the 90 point number. By the end of the glass, it did not quite hold up in the complexity department, but still quite respectable. Plenty of strawberry and bing cherry fruit. Nice balance. Spicy, fruity, and some creamy vanilla on the finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Wine was light garnet color with an orange rim. Aromas of strawberry, plumb, rock fruit and a light presence of leather. The wine was reasonably well balanced, with a mild bitterness that disappeared over time. Presence of oak, and mineral with very little fruit in attendance. Finish is short. I would suggest this as a food pairing wine that would match up well with mildly seasoned pepper steak, tri-tip, pork loin and sausages.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dark color for a Pinot. Guessing they mixed another grape in. Nice strawberry nose and some cedar. Bacon flavor on the palate with red fruit. Nice finish. Nothing complex, but a good everyday Pinot for the price.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Musty nose right away and that mustiness carried over to the taste. My wife didn't want to finish hers. It was not flawed and drinkable but I'm not sure what all the positive comments are about with this wine. I also noticed that the label says "500 Barrels Produced" while factually true, makes it seem like a small production. The common way to show production volume is how many cases. There are 25 cases in a barrel so there were really 12,500 cases produced-Hmm...not small after all. Why didn't they want to put that number on the label? This is now a marketing company to me and not a winery. I will not buy again.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted 2 hours. Bretty on the nose with some red berry and orange peel poking through. Light in color but mid weight in body. Tart finish that is medium/short. Overall a very good wine for $9 - real pinot, no fake candied flavors. I would have been very disappointed had I paid $30.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
(14.5%) Warm spice and tart cranberry notes on the nose. The palate starts with surprising weight given how light it looks in the glass. This wine is wound tight with cranberry flavors that merge with bright cherry overtones. The mid-palate shows flashes of cola acidity to keep it nicely balanced. From there the barrel notes emerge and lead to a nice creamy, vanilla finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Intense, unmistakable bacon, especially on the nose. Also notes of berries, cherries, and hints of spice and beef jerky and/or smoked game. The 14.5 ABV had me wary, but this doesn't taste overly hot or overly oaked. Can't get over how I've never had a wine so overtly meaty before and trying to reconcile it with previous notes. Anyway, I like it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
medium/light purple color. minty/fruity aromas. some chemical/cleaning product aroma too. not unpleasant - rather interesting. grape candy, cherry flavors. slight alcohol/heat flavor. short finish. nothing spectacular, but o.k. good for a cheap pinot
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dusty red fruit on the nose with some pinot funk that blew off with some air. Light-bodied and fruit-forward, with notes of strawberry, cola, and vanilla. A little thin toward to middle-end. Not much acidity, but food-friendly nonetheless.
A nice, inexpensive break from the over-extracted syrah-pinots that have become the norm in CA. Excellent QPR here for less than $10.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Visually, this wine is quite thin. But then again maybe it's varietally correct and the rest of the overblown California Pinot Noir I've been drinking is overly dark. Typical Pinot Noir aromas of strawberries and tart cherries but I get some slightly-green/twangy/stemmy aromas as well that I could have done without. I get these notes quite frequently in Russian River Valley Pinot Noir so depending on whether these bother you, you may want to proceed with caution. Quite nice on the palate with satisfying weight and creamy light vanilla notes. Seemed like lowish acidity. Nice aftertaste. Medium length of finish. I would have gone 90 points on this wine if not for the every-so-slightly-off aromas. Your mileage may vary - I'd encourage you to check it out if you can find it under $15.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
4/2/2011 - mcclin47 wrote: 83 Points
Very light coloring. Good, solid body in the initial tasting, but the finish is weak to non-existent. Can't knock it for the price, but in the future I would definitely pair it with food.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/1/2011 - Mike Kopanski wrote: 88 Points
17th Annual Central Carolina Food and Wine Festival (Medallion Center, Columbia, SC.): Even the value priced guys get one right every once in a while. It may be the 2007 vintage made a star out of everyone, but this one came out pretty good. It is from the Russian River. The color is light, it is only medium bodied at best. What it has going for it, is lots of true Pinot Noir flavor. At first sniff and taste, I got enough gamy, meaty, spicy flavors and aromas to think about giving it the 90 point number. By the end of the glass, it did not quite hold up in the complexity department, but still quite respectable. Plenty of strawberry and bing cherry fruit. Nice balance. Spicy, fruity, and some creamy vanilla on the finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/28/2011 - jupiter33 wrote: 87 Points
Similar to last time. Good QPR
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/15/2011 - Lee Fining wrote: 83 Points
Wine was light garnet color with an orange rim. Aromas of strawberry, plumb, rock fruit and a light presence of leather. The wine was reasonably well balanced, with a mild bitterness that disappeared over time. Presence of oak, and mineral with very little fruit in attendance. Finish is short. I would suggest this as a food pairing wine that would match up well with mildly seasoned pepper steak, tri-tip, pork loin and sausages.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/12/2011 - Joshiemac wrote: 84 Points
Knocked this down a few points, really enjoyed previous bottles for the price but this one came off as too candied-sweet for my taste.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/18/2010 - amelecki wrote: 86 Points
Tasted at Dad's wedding. Decent to good.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/14/2010 - ocattorney wrote: 86 Points
Dark color for a Pinot. Guessing they mixed another grape in. Nice strawberry nose and some cedar. Bacon flavor on the palate with red fruit. Nice finish. Nothing complex, but a good everyday Pinot for the price.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/12/2010 - Mapwines wrote: 86 Points
Lynn didn't like. Can only drink some Pinot. Not related to price.
A little metallic.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/20/2010 - Central Coast Wino wrote: 87 Points
A nice, easy drinking pinot with a good QPR at $8.99 from Trader Joe's. At that price I'd but again for a daily drinker.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/16/2010 - midai wrote: 73 Points
Musty nose right away and that mustiness carried over to the taste. My wife didn't want to finish hers. It was not flawed and drinkable but I'm not sure what all the positive comments are about with this wine.
I also noticed that the label says "500 Barrels Produced" while factually true, makes it seem like a small production. The common way to show production volume is how many cases. There are 25 cases in a barrel so there were really 12,500 cases produced-Hmm...not small after all. Why didn't they want to put that number on the label? This is now a marketing company to me and not a winery. I will not buy again.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/11/2010 - N3DD wrote: 77 Points
Easy to drink. Light and nice.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/11/2010 - jupiter33 wrote: 88 Points
Decanted 2 hours. Bretty on the nose with some red berry and orange peel poking through. Light in color but mid weight in body. Tart finish that is medium/short. Overall a very good wine for $9 - real pinot, no fake candied flavors. I would have been very disappointed had I paid $30.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/5/2010 - Jason Rzutkiewicz Likes this wine: 87 Points
(14.5%) Warm spice and tart cranberry notes on the nose. The palate starts with surprising weight given how light it looks in the glass. This wine is wound tight with cranberry flavors that merge with bright cherry overtones. The mid-palate shows flashes of cola acidity to keep it nicely balanced. From there the barrel notes emerge and lead to a nice creamy, vanilla finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/2/2010 - eldiabloazul wrote: 85 Points
Interesting..earthy. Lip smacking cherry fruit. Not bad for 9 bucks. Might buy again.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/21/2010 - gatame wrote: 85 Points
Intense, unmistakable bacon, especially on the nose. Also notes of berries, cherries, and hints of spice and beef jerky and/or smoked game. The 14.5 ABV had me wary, but this doesn't taste overly hot or overly oaked. Can't get over how I've never had a wine so overtly meaty before and trying to reconcile it with previous notes. Anyway, I like it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/19/2010 - schnittle wrote: 85 Points
medium/light purple color. minty/fruity aromas. some chemical/cleaning product aroma too. not unpleasant - rather interesting. grape candy, cherry flavors. slight alcohol/heat flavor. short finish. nothing spectacular, but o.k. good for a cheap pinot
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/3/2010 - Joshiemac Likes this wine: 88 Points
Dusty red fruit on the nose with some pinot funk that blew off with some air. Light-bodied and fruit-forward, with notes of strawberry, cola, and vanilla. A little thin toward to middle-end. Not much acidity, but food-friendly nonetheless.
A nice, inexpensive break from the over-extracted syrah-pinots that have become the norm in CA. Excellent QPR here for less than $10.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/27/2010 - RobertDwyer wrote: 88 Points
Visually, this wine is quite thin. But then again maybe it's varietally correct and the rest of the overblown California Pinot Noir I've been drinking is overly dark. Typical Pinot Noir aromas of strawberries and tart cherries but I get some slightly-green/twangy/stemmy aromas as well that I could have done without. I get these notes quite frequently in Russian River Valley Pinot Noir so depending on whether these bother you, you may want to proceed with caution. Quite nice on the palate with satisfying weight and creamy light vanilla notes. Seemed like lowish acidity. Nice aftertaste. Medium length of finish. I would have gone 90 points on this wine if not for the every-so-slightly-off aromas. Your mileage may vary - I'd encourage you to check it out if you can find it under $15.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/27/2010 - Chadhew wrote: 94 Points
Yum
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/31/2010 - cartime wrote: 87 Points
Beat the Heat Tasting (The Tasting Room - Uptown Park): Really nice earthy black cherry flavors and good acidity that are totally overpowered by too much alcohol. Recommend drinking this young and at cellar temp.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment