Pinot Noir Quandary

Good $10 Pinot Noir is really not easy.Hell, drinkable $10 PN isn't that easy. A tricky grape. I guess my best suggestions would be Gallo of Sonoma, Duckpond, Pepperwood Grove, or a Bourgogne from a decent maker.

If you can go to $12-13, if you can find Denis Clair Bourgogne-Hautes Côtes de Beaune or Michel Gros Bourgogne-Hautes Côtes de Nuits, I've liked those. At $15 maybe Sainstbury Garnet.

For non-PN suggestions: The $12 Lafarge PTG I just posted on (half pinot noir, half gamay) would be a good choice. Or a good Beaujolais from a good producer (some producers to look for are Jean-Paul Brun/Terres Dorrees, Coudert/Clos de la Roilette , Guy Breton, Lapierre, Thevenet - I personally usually avoid Georges "Banana" DuBoeuf).

Zin is usually a good match. Plenty of recent threads re choices there.

Doesn't hurt to have a white on table too, I lean towards off-dry Chenin Blanc or Riesling.

Dale

Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply

I know that this is not 100 % what you are looking for, but ... for daily drinkers, I have been happy with the following:

HRM Rex Goliath (Giant 47 Pound Rooster) ~ $7.99 Carneros Ridge ~ $6.99 (top seller at our local shop)

I have had a real hard time trying to find something that I really liked in the $10.00 - $15.00 range.

Eric

ALLRIGHT! Another 47 pound Rooster fan! I just purchased a bunch of the PN for $5.99 and I think It's great for the money. I'll be serving this at Thanksgiving also. I'll check out the Carneros Ridge.

Thanks for the reply, Dick

Hi Dale, As always, I appreciate your suggestions. I'll see what I can find in the French department, but my favorite liquor store favors DuBoeuf wines. I like Zin for a turkey match, but I also want to provide something lighter (Rex Goliath 47 pound Rooster :-) ) for some folks, (including me) and maybe a 1998 Argyle (Oregon) PN for those who will appreciate it (including me).

A Piesporter Riesling is always good for most folks, but I've never placed a bottle of Chenin Blanc on the table. This year I will.

I think the days of good $10 PNs are gone forever. :-(

Thanks for your suggestions, Dick

Dick,

A pretty darned good buy in PN Oregon is the Coopers Creek 2001 PN Willamette Valley Estate. WS-86, $10-(8.99 from Enocollection online). Another but very good Pinot Noir is the Kings Ridge (Oregon again) Pinot Noir Oregon 2001, WS-87, Price $14(13.99 from Enocollection.com online).

Speaking of the 47 pound rooster stuff I bought some of that just to see what it would be like. I was really expecting some dreadful lighter fluid stuff but found it to be quite pleasing.

Winespectator.com shows 101 ratings from 85-100 at price points of $20 or less and I believe I limited my search to just Oregon wines.

If I didn't, then I limited my search to just Carneros, Oregon and New York.

Bob

"Dick R." wrote:

"Dick R." wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@visi.com:

DuBoeuf isn't bad it isn't great though and I would "never" buy the Moulin a Vent despite the 12USD price tag to Jadot's 19USD, but the Fluerie and Morgons are better than Jadot and represent the only other option I have found for cru Beaujolais in my part of the woods.

Let me start with a :-) Wouldn't it be a bummer if France banned the export of French words and phrases to English-speaking countries? I sure would miss those hors d'oeuvres! :-) Dick

For a while, I tried many Beaujolais. The DuBoeuf 1997 Julienas Flower Label was wonderful! I tried several DuBoeuf and Jadot after that, but wasn't impressed. I kind of gave up on Beaujolais, but maybe it's time to re-visit them!

Thanks for the reply, Dick

I've had some ok DuBoeufs, but too often there's that weird banana meets berry thing (I have read comments saying it's a particular yeast that DuBoeuf favors). I think the best I've had from him was indeed the Morgon.

If you're someplace you can do mailorder, it's really worth trying what smaller producers can do, in my opinion. Dale

Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply

A good Vouvray would be what I would look for, though some domestic CBs like Dry Creek can be good values, too.

I look forward to your notes. This Rex Goliath seems to get a lot of attention, I haven't seen around here but will keep eyes open. Dale

Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply

I thought you guys were talking about pinot noir based wines. Did you switch subjects when I wasn't watching, and without changing the header?

Hi Bill, Didn't mean to sound like a twit. I've been reading your posts for several years, and I very much respect your opinions. What would you suggest?

Thanks, Dick

Bill Spohn wrote:

snipped-for-privacy@aol.comdamnspam (Dale Williams) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@mb-m18.aol.com:

Can you spell felony state? ;-(

I know that Dick R. already replied, but I will add the original poster also asked for good alternatives.

Eric

As a substitute for PN - there really isn't one, although there are many grapes that are light weight poseurs without the same breeding.

I rather like the Carneros Creek wines if one must drink New World Pinot. ;-)

If you have a Trader Joe's nearby try the Deloach OFS pinot.They bought out their inventory in a bancruptcy sale.The OFS which was a $25-30 wine is selling for $10.99.Beware tho I've been told of some going thru a secondary fermentation.They also have a Ballatto vinyard and a plain Russian River bottling.

I thought it decent for it's $6 price tag. As I said, it's really hard to come up with DRINKABLE Pinot Noir under $10 in the US. I probably wouldn't buy it, though I would buy the Pepperwood Grove Syrah again at $6. Dale

Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply