Best Pinot Noir within $40?

Beaune per se is ok, but there are village (AOC) nearby that are better - Aloxe Corton, for one.

If you're in a California frame of mind, try the David Bruce Santa Cruz Mountains PN. even better, but impossible to get, is their R-Bar-R PN.

I just got back from an area known for Pinot Noir in southern California. Tasted quite a number of Pinot Noir. My two favorites were these from Rideau and Cambria. I do not believe their better wines are distributed outside the region. That was common with most of the wineries visited.

Granted when it comes to Burgandy not much compares.

That said there are some excellent Oregon Pinots in that range:

Bergstrom-Willamette Valley Chahalem Ridgecrest Tori Mor Patricia Green Domaine Drouhin

Others as well. Good luck.

I forgot about Willamette Valley having some excellent Pinot Noir's. One of my favorites is Witness Tree.

What to get would depend largely on the tastes of your group. What makes Pinot Noir most special to me is the perfumed nose that you can get in a well-aged Cote D'Or. If you're buying the bottle tomorrow, though, that's not something you can get. So, if you're looking for fruit and prettiness, I'd probably steer toward the New World rather than Burgundy. If you do want a Burgundy for opening tomorrow, I'd get a generic Bourgogne or a lighter commune such as Savigny-les-Beaune, Chorey-les-Beaune, Mercurey, Marsannay or Fixin. I recently had a 2002 Méo-Camuzet Marsannay that was lovely. Alternatively, a Chevillon or Lafarge Bourgogne from '04 ought to do nicely. For $40, you could even get a Lafarge Volnay (not his 1ers, though). Other producers to look for would be Denis Bachelet, Claude Marechal or Maurice Écard. If your crowd is not as oak-averse as I am, other producers may be acceptable, too.

For an under-$40 New World Pinot Noir, I'd try Domaine Drouhin's 2003 (a hot year) a Saintsbury Carneros ($ left over) or a Gary Farrell RRV bottling. All of those wines are made in a more forward style and aren't overly oaky.

HTH Mark Lipton

A lot depends on palate of your group. If big fruit is paramount, then maybe CA. If not, maybe Burgundy. Oregon is kind of in between.

Burgundy If you decide to go with Beaune, the Jadot's 1ers are usually good values. The Ursules probably top $40 (as does Drouhin's baby Jesus and Lafarge's Greves) , but the Boucherottes, Couacheaux, etc are $30 or so. Usually more forward. Outside Beaune, Pavelot's Savigny 1ers are another set that drink well young. You might try Bourgogne rouge from deVillaine, Lafarge, Roumier, Barthod. Santenay from Denis Clair, Joblot's Givry.

It's tough to recommend not knowing availability in your market. You might look at a good wine store for Burgundy recommendations from 2000. Uneven vintage, but some very good early drinking wines. 2003 drinks early too, but quality is even more uneven.

Oregon Others probably have more knowledge here, but I like the wines of DDO, Belle Pente & St Innocent. I also liked J. Christopher recently. My impression is that 2003 is a more forward vintage, but little to base that on.

California I like Copain, Saintsbury, Arcadian, Littorai. But latter two are probably now mostly over $40. The 05 Copain Autumn bottling is fine for $20, if you don't split with someone. Walter Hansel makes some nice early drinkers. Kosta Brown USED to be under $40, but scores have sent it to stratosphere. Some Siduris and Lorings are under $40, in the big fruit style.

Hard to be more specific without knowing what you can buy.

Professor wrote:

We reside in the Boston area so it seem like we pay a little less than the rest of the US for European wines but a little more for wines coming from the west coast. Thanks for everyone's response. I've cut and pasted everyone's recommendations onto one page which I'll take with me when shopping. I'll let you know which one I buy, which wine our group likes best and all the other wines too. Cheers.

Look forward to report. Interesting re pricing. Other than Table & Vine (great store which won't ship to NY), I've generally found MA prices high. I was on Martys-Allston list for a while when Josh Wertlieb was there, never found one thing I thought was a good price! Any stores I should check if I'm in area?

(Runs fist through wall...................)

I like Shell gasoline. What kind of car should I buy to run on it?

"UC" skrev i melding news: snipped-for-privacy@f1g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

Ferrari Testarossa, of course, certainly no F____ Renault! Anders

Si!

I knew Josh. In the Boston area I have my list of usual suspects. Mall Discount in Cambridge buys ends of shipments so they frequently have great prices. Brookline Liquor Mart keeps a large selection of better wines. Martignetti's and Marty's tend to keep a good selection as well. The Wine Cask in Somerville specializes in Italian, Spanish and Portugese wines. Back Bay Wine and Spirits in Boston sells many high end wines. Gordon's in Waltham keeps a big selection of Piedmonts as the Piedmontese Restaurant Il Capreccio is next door.

I actually buy the vast majority of my wines via the internet.

That's almost like forgetting that France makes wine.

Almost... funny.

Cheers,

David

I think you've been stuck in limbo too long.

Why do outsiders always recommend the flagship labels? Could it be that you've just not had much experience tasting the range?

For under $20/bottle, namely $16-18 range, Try a 2005 AtoZ Pinot Noir. A little young, but big bold red fruit, no bulls*** acid you get from similar vintage wines (namely, a pH of 3.75 does the trick). Nice pairing with any type of beef, pork, chicken, turkey, even smoked ham.

If you want a little spendier, try Owen Roe's Sharecropper's Pinot Noir. Unfiltered. Maybe $20/bottle, depending on the shop. Simply amazing. Bold fruit, not too heavy. Low acid, balanced tannins and oak. A definite "flavorite" for those who like a Pinot with balls.

In the $25-$30 range, try a Beran 03'-04'. Amazing fruit and balance. Letting it breathe opens up the spice and oak, but you still end up with an amazing glass no matter, whether fresh from opening or after

In the $30-$40 range, you might actually consider a... wait. Never had a need to spend more than $30 for a great Oregon Pinot Noir...

On the opposite end, if you want a decent "table wine" quality at $6-7, you could always get a Pepperwood Grove (Chilean).

There's plenty of good wines out there. I'd simply caution you against blowing $40 on a P.N. when there are so many good (and affordable) options available.

Cheers,

David

I'd recommend the California Pinot Noir. It tastes almost as good as Shell.

David

Is Seline (sp) in Waltham still in business?

Back in my day, Brookline Liquor Mart was _the_ place. Quite high end and they had some unusual things. I remember when Macy's became Marty's, they were always playing catch up to BLM. Logically enough Marty's Newton had a far better selection than Marty's Allston; I lived in Watertown about equidistant from the two.

-E

What is a Ferrari Testarossa - is it short for TestaroneTossa?

Tim

Why do you categorize wines as 'best'? Why not just 'different'?

Yes Seline is still there, but I haven't been particularly impressed with their prices or selection. Brookline Liquor Mart is still considered the best, but not the best prices I've found. I reside very near your former address.