Cheap Pinot Noir, Any Good Ones?

Cheap Pinot Noir, Any Good Ones? – Episode #259

June 19, 2007

Pinot Noir is HOT and everyone is all about it but are there any good ones under ten bones?

Having trouble viewing this video? Try the Quicktime version.

Comments on this episode(243) Leave a comment ›

“Hands down Talus Shiraz was the most god awful wine i have ever tasted…” by Dennis
“A question…is Pinot Noir considered a light bodied wine or full bodi…” by Adrian
View all 243 ›

Wines tasted in this episode:

Talus Pinot NoirOther California Pinot Noir
Lindemans Pinot Noir Bin 99Australian Pinot Noir
Cavit Pinot NoirTrentino Alto Adige IGT
Barkan Pinot NoirIsraeli Kosher Wine

243 Responses

Pages: « 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 [2] 1 » Show All

June 19, 2007

CNW
Geez, I was pulling for the last wine but man – three strikes!
QOTD: There have been so many that it’s hard to just choose 1~:)
June 19, 2007

John Blue Label
You took one for the team today, GV. Sorry you had to taste those.
I’m not a real Pinot fan anyway. I refuse to be told to drink by Hollywood.
QOTD: Two Buck Chuck Cab served at a charity function. Good news is I won some great Bordeaux in the silent auction.
June 19, 2007

KAHUNA
Cali can take their crappy Pinot and stuff it where the sun dont shine. Ok I am not a Cali pinot fan.
June 19, 2007

Medo
It looks like no wine of the bunch is worth the label and the bootle Thanks for sorting this out for us Gary!

QOTD: Le Patron in 1.5 l for 3â‚¬ at the gas station.
June 19, 2007

NathanN
Gary you have been SKUNKED! Hope you make up for it tomorrow.

Thanks for the attempt to discover some great Pinot Noir QPRâ€™s for us.

QOTD: I have had some real bad wines before but another awful under $10 Pinot Noir is Castle Rock Monterey County 2005. Took two sips and then down the drain it went.
June 19, 2007

Jeremy
As a ck I am sort of an expert on under $10 bottles of wine. The absolute worst was the Barefoot Cabernet. Discusting is the only way to put it.
June 19, 2007

DK44
Man, tough show!

Let’s try again in $10 – $20 range and see what happens.

QOTD – answer
Has to be the 2 buck chuck. Never throw a wine tasting and tell people to bring “whatever”. From then on, only themes and suggested ranges!

keep on swirling!
June 19, 2007

Ken B.
Gary,

I was hoping that you might find a good Pinot at this price point; but I really doubted it. I have tried the Cavit before and it was terrible so I am not surprised. I think if people are going to drink Pinot; they have to decide that they are going to budget more money to enjoy it.

QOTD: Cavit Pinot and it was truly terrible.
June 19, 2007

Kelly
Every wine I have had from Israel has been corked, what is that all about?

QOTD: Since I am a ck I have had tons of under ten dollar bottles of wine, the worst in recent memory would have to be a Cortijo Tinto Rioja–I couldn’t even drink it, I had to pass it off.

I have had a handful of Pinot Noir’s recently and for some crazy reason they have all been corked. Everytime I think of Pinot Noir I get a terrible feeling in my stomach. The only decent Pinot I have had in the past few months was a Lily. I wanted to buy the Paul Hobbs or Melville but the group decided on Lily.

PLEASE HAVE MJK ON THE SHOWWWW!!!!
June 19, 2007

LMoC
QOTD: Ironically enough, my worst wine under $10 would have to be the Barkan Classic Merlot. Before I knew much about wine, I would buy Barkan Classic because it’s so cheap and widely available here in Israel. I’ve also had at least one “corked” bottle from this label.
When I see people in the supermarket eying the Barkans, I politely urge them to consider the lower end wines from the Golan Heights and Galil Mountain wineries, some of which have great QPR.
June 19, 2007

Kelldey
Ewww! Seems like you got some really yucky wines today, G-man! Too bad.

QOTD: Has to be some variety of Boone’s Farm, during the broke collegiate days. Nasty! I have friends who still drink it. Ewww!

I loved the quip, “These are the girls your mom warned you about.” Hee!

If nothing else, at least we know what NOT to buy!

Thanks for all you do,
K
June 19, 2007

Adam
By far it was Pepperwood Grove Pinot.
June 19, 2007

wildebeest
gotta love that SF glass!
June 19, 2007

Mike S.
Pinot Noir under ten bones gives me the heebie jeebies, although I’ve had some really good regional Burgundies for around $20 (e.g. Frederic Magnien).

As for the QOTD, unfortunately I’ve had too many wines from the big, mass market producers to name. That said, Mas Delmera makes one of my favorite everyday wines for around $8. Gotta love Spain.
June 19, 2007

Wine Lush
QOTD: There are no bad bottles of wine, just wine I’ll never buy again.

Sometimes wine is what it is. Shame about the Israeli wine. Who opens the bottles?
June 19, 2007

wildebeest
QOTD: the worst was a Yellow Tail Cabernet Sauvignon. Think cheap Pinot with fake smoke flavoring added in an attempt to beef it up a bit. Absolutely horrible.
June 19, 2007

Neil
A show featuring Pinot under $10 is bound to fail and it did.

QOTD: I had a Pepperwood Grove Pinot that was terrible however I used it for Coq Au Vin. I know, it was a risk – I didn’t know how it would turn out but the heat/braising did it well. Then again, the bacon and the veal stock probably helped prop it up some.

On its own Pepperwood Grove would fit nicely in todays round up of swill.
June 19, 2007

Dominus
No surprise here. Effort alone to make pinot noir should cost at least 15 bones.

QOTD: Worst wine under $10? I’ve only had two wines under $10 that I can recall (Summerfield Chard and Sunday Mtn SB)and both were pretty good. I don’t buy or try under 10 bones wines unless they have been recommended by a friend or the G-Man.

Cheers
June 19, 2007

Cam
You’re a brave man, Gary!

QOTD: Whew… I can’t remember the name of the worst, but boy do I remember the taste. It was $6 for a Cab, and it was absolutely undrinkable. We couldn’t even use it to cook with (which is often what we do with wines that aren’t great). Just terrible.
June 19, 2007

BrettInLJ
Back in 1997 I was on a date in college and ordered a Kendall Jackson Pinot Noir. I new NOTHING about wine, but favored Pinot Noirs ever since. The worst under $10 bottle I have had was the Charles Shaw Beaujolais. I remember it from your Two-Buck Vaynerchuk episode and since it was around, had to see for myself. The action figure in underwear description you gave was dead-on.
June 19, 2007

Joseph M. Kennedy
QOTD: This pomegranate wine.. I can’t remember the name, but man… don’t try that.
June 19, 2007

Orion Slayer
Woah, that’s almost as bad as the 2-buck chuck episode. Not a bad show, just a bad experience for your palate!

QOTD: The worst has to be a Rex Goliath Cabernet Sauvignon. Ewwww! I can’t describe it adequately, but it was just…terrible. It didn’t taste spoiled or corked, it was just, bad.
June 19, 2007

JC
Mad Dog 20/20, or was it the Boons Farm?
June 19, 2007

Barry
Castle Rock makes a killer Pinot Noir at $9.99, available at Trader Joes and other major wine outlets. I wouldn’t put it in the category of the $40 to $50 Pinots, but it is as good as most $20 Pinots I’ve tried.
June 19, 2007

Dan
Any Yellow Tail red.