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?

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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

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June 19, 2007

mbannon
BWAAHAA Ha ha ha, that was AWEsome Gary!!! High score of 73?! Classic. Also confirms my own experience with cheap pinot (notice I use “cheap” instead of “inexpensive”). Under $15? Fuhgeddaboudit.

QOD – Tough call, but I think the Little Penguin cab is somewhere in there.
June 19, 2007

italianwinelover
urg!!! sorry you had to go through that pinot hell!!! Even after watching Sideways didn’t get into Pinots, but definately began disliking Merlots!

QOTD: Hmmmmm….too many in my past to single out one, but Yellow Tail really was bad. THANK GOD there is you-Gary-to stop me from drinking bad wines!!!!! Thank you!!!
June 19, 2007

FredinNYC
QOTD: I’ve had very nice surprises in the under $10, and very bad surprises in the over $100. I guess it all comes down to expectation
June 19, 2007

Plminer
That episode looked brutal for you Gary, thanks for taking one for the team.
QOTD: By far Yellow Tail “Shiraz”, worst sheeyot I’ve ever had. Even worse than 2 Buck. Yep, that bad.
June 19, 2007

tarheel17
QOTD: I can’t even pick. . .any of the sub-$10 Chardonnays fit in there. THe most recent was Toasted Head. Ick. HMRex Goliath Rooster too.
June 19, 2007

John P
I don’t drink many Pinots and I have sworn off any under $10.
Gary, you could tarnish that great palet of yours, be careful.
I would rather pay twice the price and drink half as much.

QOTD: I bought two bottles of d’Arenberg “Laughing Magpie”
and found the first so bad it went down the drain. Then,
opened the second to see if it was me/them and poured that
one down the drain too. It did not make me laugh. That
was about $40 down the drain, I think……
June 19, 2007

wm mole
Time to fire up the “way back machine”. Worst was the infamous “Red Mountain Burgundy” $1.99 a gallon. Animal house special!
June 19, 2007

MrTC
Was that the worst episode ever (in terms of wines)? Sure was a lot of fun watching though . Mind you, Pinot Noir is a fickle grape and I’m not surprised that 5-8 USD efforts are awful. Having said that, I’ve had 13-14 USD Pinot Noir which blew most of what you find at that price range out of the water (it was a Bourgogne too). No ‘deal’ feels better to me than finding a good PQR PN.

QOTD: I try to forget these as fast as possible, so can’t tell you the worst ever. But recently I had a supermarket-bottled Cotes Du Rhone Villages (Rasteau) which was just awful. In fact it took me by surprise, because usually you can find some real steals in CDR Villages.
June 19, 2007

DaveyDonut
y0wza, that was bad. A few years ago (when I was moving on from Three Buck Chuck), I was drinking the Camelot Pinot Noir from California. It was about $6, and it was pretty decent, actually… the best $6 wine I had had. I don’t believe they make it anymore… at least I can’t find it in Oregon. Oh, I just looked it up… they do still make it, and funny, just like this first wine you had, the grapes are now grown in France. Surely it has gone down hill as well. If I could find it locally, I’d try it again, but surely since it’s now from the other side of the earth, it will at a minimum be a totally different wine than what I had years ago, and likely not as good.

QOTD: There’s this $3.50 Italian wine at trader Joe’s… Carvaglio… or something like that. Oh my god, it’s horrible…
June 19, 2007

waibeans
Ohh man.. I can just feel your frustration GV. Echoing Johnny Blue.. sorry you had to go through that.
June 19, 2007

Colleen
Not a big fan of Pinot.. especially sub $10.00..
QOTD: 2005 Yellow Tail Shiraz..awful!
June 19, 2007

Dusty
wow, was the high score of the day a 73? gary, you’re a braver man than i. atleast today. QOTD: some shiraz from california. guy brought it to a blind tasting i had. had to rinse my mouth and glass with listerine before moving on.
June 19, 2007

Brant
Great episode, even if the wines were terrible. Worst ever: Barefoot Cab – absolutely hideous.
June 19, 2007

John Witherspoon
QOTD : J. Wray and Nephew “Red Label Wine” tasting description – Flat Doctor Pepper mixed with Robotussin (sp?)

my sister and her new husband were in Jamaica for their honeymoon and picked this up at the drugstore for me knowing how much of a wine enthusiast I am, $2.99, what a steal. haha

J DUB
June 19, 2007

Ben N.
QOTD: 2-buck chuck or turning leaf.
June 19, 2007

lifestooshort
re: cheap PN: Yikes? Ugh. The vine Gods were not smiling today. But the wine trolls were apparently out in force. Good excuse to treat yourself to something good later…
June 19, 2007

Joe
Under $10: $2 buck chuck Chard.

But maybe had even a worse $60 experience on Father’s Day – 2005 Sea Smoke TEN (Pinot). I was so dissapointed.

I got my allocation last week, and wanted to treat myself on Dad’s Day. HOT. The most obivious alcoholic wine I ever had. Worse than most Zins and Shiraz’s. it was like drinking Armagnac – with the burn and heat flash in mouth and throat. The grapes were ripe and of fine pedigree….I believe it was downright awful wine-making. I am very dissapointed in 2005 Sea Smoke.

Joe
June 19, 2007

Steve-o
Sideways, while a very good movie, has had FAR too much influence on rubes who are desperate to sound like the know what they’re talking about. Although it is fun to scare people by occasionally screaming “I’M NOT DRINKING ANY FU&*ING MERLOT!”

QOTD: Boxed “Sangria”. I was 18, poor, and we all needed to get hammered. never…ever…again…
June 19, 2007

Harold
Hey Bart F., I’m guessing that it was the Zarafa that you didn’t like. I actually thought it was pretty good but from what I’ve been able to glean from reviews, there seems to be a lot of bottle fluctuation.
June 19, 2007

TimInFL
I agree with DK44…Letâ€™s try again in the $10 – $20 range and see what happens. I think anyone who “Truly” drinks Pinot, is looking for DEALS in that range. I’m happy under $30…ecstatic under $20. However, I am off the Pinot kick now and was a HUGE drinker of the stuff PS (pre-sideways)…I have watched the prices sore and quality come down…I needed a new fad…I switched Malbec. I like that itâ€™s been completely different each time I get oneâ€¦like all over the mapâ€¦Still tying to figure it out! Besides, it strikes up a nice conversation to all the novices out there!

QOTD – Excelsior Estate Cabernet Sauvignon – South Africa (Can’t Remember Year off-hand)…$8.99…Tasted like Tarred, Provolone Cheese dipped in Pickle Juice and rolled in smoked-skittles! Nasty, Nasty Juice! Got it from my neighbor who “liked the label”
June 19, 2007

Harold
QOTD; a horrible bottle of Sangiovese that (unfairly) put me off of Italian wines for years. I’m only now starting to brave them again.
June 19, 2007

matthews
wow some stinker wines today huh? hope your a little nicer to yourself with your selections tomarrow. QOTD-boxed franzia burgundy i drank with my friends years ago when we were young. that stuff gave me a hangover before i even passed out.
June 19, 2007

Bart F
QOTD: $4 South African Pinotage from Trader Joes! First time I ever poured an entire bottle down the drain.
June 19, 2007

tim
QOTD: Had to be a 2 buck chuck Beaujolais. It was really scary. Would love to hear if you do run across a somewhat widely available Pinot in that price range.
June 19, 2007

Suzanne
QOTD: When I was little, one of my uncles used to drink something called “Cold Duck.” I vaguely remember other relatives making fun of him for drinking it. Wine snobbery circa 1965!