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
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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

Susan
Gary- Still ‘drinking bad wine, so I don’t have to’ !!!!!
Great stuff!! I have had the Cavit. It really is off balance!!
Too acid!!!
Thanks Gary!!!!
June 19, 2007

phermented1
I do not know who is worse, the people that produce that plunk or the people that buy it.
June 19, 2007

Brooklyn Paul
Hey, someone tell Kahuna there wasn’t a single California Pinot grape in the bunch! Pay attention big guy!

So… too bad there was nothing there worth tasting. Always on the lookout for a cheap Pinot.

QOTD: Hmmmm…don’t buy a lot of sub $10 wines, and those I do are usually on a rec, so really can’t remember any bad ones. You know what they say?… “GaryV, drinking bad wine, so I don’t have to!”
June 19, 2007

EricB
Well I could have saved you the pain of tasting Talus – that tied with Carl Reh Riesling Spatlese 2002 for the worst under $10 I’ve ever had.
Try HRM Rex Goliath for a good cheap pinot ($9). At a pinot tasting / dinner, it was very similar to Elk Cove’s and La Crema’s basic $20 offerings.
June 19, 2007

Marc
QOTD: I’m in too good of a mood to think negatively, so I’ll turn it around and say the best under $10 wine I’ve had is probably the Las Rocas Garnacha I ordered off your recommendation.

Is it common for Israeli wines to be corked? I bought two this year for Passover and both of them were corked, and including those 2 I’ve only had 3 bottles of corked wine in my life (I think). The only time I’ve had uncorked Israeli wine is when I’ve actually drank it at a winery in Israel. Maybe they’re not so good with the shipping?
June 19, 2007

Montrose
QOTD: I had the worst liquid sold as wine in the United States after the government put measures in place to assure food quality: a cabernet from India I purchased becuase I wanted to “expand my horizons” and it said M Rolland consulted. If I had consulted on this stuff, I would have said “no.”
June 19, 2007

portman
Ugh. Under $10 pinot? no chance.

QOTD: Little Penguin pinot and 2 Buck Chuck chard.
June 19, 2007

Jan Wicher
QOTD: Brown Brothers 2006 Lexia (i don’t buy it but was subjected to it at a dinner party). Sugar syrup would be better to drink to this.
June 19, 2007

amgryger
Really cheap pinot noir kind of scares me. The least expensive pinot I have had that was decent (somewhat above adequate) was a Bourgogne Rouge at around 17 bones.

QOTD: I have had a lot of pretty horrible under $10 wines. Two-buck chuck cabernet is pretty awful, though possibly not as bad as yellowtail shiraz. I also had a another california cabernet that was wretched, which I think might have been called “Cedar Creek,” but that’s a memory I tried to block out.

It should probably be noted that, with the exception of two buck chuck, all of these wines came from liquor stores that are built primarily out of bulletproof plexiglass…
June 19, 2007

Bobinnati
Yikes! If you couldn’t even find a good bottle of Pinot under $10, what chance do we have?? QOTD – Fish Eye Shiraz – U – G – L – Y – it ain’t got no al – i – bi, it’s ugly, yeah, yeah, it’s ugly……
June 19, 2007

Madrone
Here is my thought at this price and this quality level: Start thinking of something other than wine. I’m a wine geek always looking for a reason to drink wine but after this episode I think about something like beer (maybe a belgian or a good domestic micro) or a mixed drink or a martini. These are all better sensory experiences than a really bad wine. Save your money for something better and while you wait perhaps drink a mojito.
June 19, 2007

mas
Wow… that has to be the worst show ever.

QOTD: 2005 Ruffino Chianti – their entry level bottling – literally liquid Drano. Had it around Thanksgiving 2006 – so it was hard to believe that a red wine 2005 was already in bottle and through the distribution channel. This was just awful stuff.
June 19, 2007

geespot
Yeeeech! Under 10$ Pinot is always disappointing. I remember when I was getting started with wine I bought almost all of them and couldn’t find one worth a second glass. Worst wine in a while, Inheritance 2004 Petite Sirah from Lone Dove Vineyards in Lodi, CA. If it weren’t for the porcelain staining possibility, I might have used it to clean my toilets. It was that bad. Seriously, I think some paint thinners might be more palatable.
June 19, 2007

Kraemer
The Beringer founders estate is actually a fairly solid Pinot for under 10 dollars come to think of it. Their Private Reserve is decent too, but that’s a different story heh.

It always pays to know somebody that works in the industry
June 19, 2007

wolfie
entertaining episode, but a little painful to watch. i knew where it was going the second i saw that bottle of lindeman’s.

qotd? don’t remember the name, but i had some $6 portugese stuff that was pretty brutal. i choked my way through a glass, left it overnight, tasted it again the next day and dumped it down the drain.
June 19, 2007

Neil
I think Kahuna is still mad at because Gary is using the SF WLTV glass and as for his opinion of Cali Pinot Noir, fine, don’t buy any – there will be more Littorai, Londer, Papapietro Perry, Kosta Browne, Flowers, etc, etc, for us locals to drink. I had a bottle of Gevrey Chambertin the other day and side by side with a DuNah, the Cali won hands down. (in my opinion)

One good thing to come out of the Sideway’s Phenom, good Merlot can be had at a fraction of the price of Cali Cab. I enjoyed a bottle of Silverado Merlot, and I agree with Gry Vynrchk it did drink like a Cab. Nice QPR

Anyway Kahuna while you’re slamming California Pinot, why don’t you.. “blow me a kiss while you’re leaving…” (Bud E Love reference)
June 19, 2007

canadapete
I was scared you might of something good to say about that heinous Lindemanns garbage. I should have known you would come through. I’m actually rather pleased you had the same discription as I did ‘a hot, kick in the teeth,’ Thanks but no thanks.
June 19, 2007

MossyMo
QOTD: Not under $10 (which makes it even worse), but I’m going to say the 2005 Layer Cake Shiraz…terrible!
June 19, 2007

nasty nate
Best bargin Pinot is Les Jamelles 88 Points Wine Enthusiast. Little Vin de pays producer that brings it for around 9-12 depending on where you get it.
June 19, 2007

RonC
Would have liked to see you include the Agustinos Pinot Noir Reserve 2006 ($9.99) that you sold with free shipping a few weeks ago in your selection.

QOTD: There’s a three way tie for the worst $10 and under bottle of wine I ever tasted;
Two Buck Chuck Cabernet Sauvignon
2005 Bon Vivant Vineyards Gala Rouge Pinot Noir
2005 Little Penguin Pinot Noir

Taks a couple of Rolaids and forget about this episode.
June 19, 2007

Randy
Man, this and the Two Buck Chuck episode. Go pour yourself some awesome wine tonight and give your palate some lovin’.

Sweet that you had Stardust playing in the background. That takes me back to Winter ‘99 in Munich, Germany, where I worked from January through April and saw just how bleak Europe gets in the depths of winter.

QOD: Honestly, seriously, I don’t buy wine under $10. Not ever. But I will tell you that for $11 (at least in Glen Ellen), I can get a Coteaux du Languedoc (organic grapes) that ROCKS.
June 19, 2007

caleb
1st corked bottle ive seen on wltv so far…..any others i missed?
June 19, 2007

Winodontist
Franzia out of a box, ummm delicioso!

Everything I like in Pinot Noir is $25+
June 19, 2007

BCWinesAreIn
QOTD: It would have to be the Naked Grape Shiraz. You’d think anyone could make a good Shiraz, right? here’s an example of one that doesn’t. Horrid stuff. They sell if for less than $10 Canadian here in Vancouver.
June 19, 2007

RIck K
Wow, I was really excited when I saw the title today. I have been on a search for a $10 bottle of Pinot to drink daily. Hope you can redo this episode and find a few. We are counting you. You need to test that 4th bottle tomorrow by the way. We are waiting on pins and needles. QTD Citra Montepulciano 2000 $3 a bottle