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 20, 2007

march_58
QOTD: Probably Woodbridge or BV Coastal Cabernet.

I think you hit the nail on the head Gary when you said after tasting the Talus that there effort was part of the problem in the wine industry today. Why make a wine that’s no good just because you can. Why not concentrate on a few varitals and do them well instead of putting out an average to well below average portfolio.
June 20, 2007

Lynne
Loved the episode. I felt your pain. I’ve had two of the four. Once.
Favorite worst wines are Franzia boxes, Woodbridge and there was something that called itself a wine that had a picture of a fish. It tasted more like fish.
June 20, 2007

Casey
Good episode. Really liked how you went after this one, and even tried to salvage the positive, informative message at the end. Good.

QOTD: Hokkaido (Japan) Naigra Grape based wine- horrible.
June 20, 2007

PhilB
QOTD: Vega Ferrera Crianza 2001, Somontano

I love Spanish wine and this Somontano region is all that bad, but this wine had a pure nose and palate of smoky garbage and unripe green pepper… PURE crap!
June 20, 2007

Capt M
Did you see my comments on cork’d about Palo Alto, $5.18 wine? It’s ridonculous. I bought the last two bottles off the shelf last night, but a friend told me where to find plenty, but for $5.99. Let me know if you can’t find it in NJ, and I’ll be happy to send you a couple.
June 20, 2007

Capt M
Love this episode. Maybe I was too tired last night, but I laughed silly while watching. QOTD: it was a french wine which name I don’t even want to remember
June 20, 2007

Metal Dave
QOTD: Cono Sur Pinot Noir. I also had an Errazuriz Shiraz-y thing that was right disgusting. Nothing however beats that Cono Sur. Absolutely appalling. One of only 2 wines I’ve ever dumped down the sink (the other being the Errazuriz). Freaking gross. I have NEVER, on that note, tasted a good Chilean wine. They must exist, but I’ve sure never had one. Thought the Los Vascos might “bring some thunder” but really it was worse than most vin de table I’ve had.
June 20, 2007

msb2ncsu
QOTD: Too many to name, to be honest. Tail end of college we were broke and still trying to get into wine so whatever Harris Teeter had on Bonus Buy was the take home prize. I distinctly remember an Australian shiraz with a koala on the label that I spit back into the glass and a Gewurzt in a bottle shaped like a black cat that caused more damage to my mouth than a Starbucks espresso.
June 20, 2007

JCfromtheWC
I actually enjoyed that episode a lot. How about a value pinot episode – under $25? There was a great topic on the boards about this yesterday. It would be great to see some fo these head to head.

QOTD – That’s a tough one. I tend to try to forget them. Does Carlo Rossi count or is that not wine?
June 20, 2007

EdKoo
Let’s see, there was the line of dogtail I tasted which was pretty terrible. There were a few wines from Uruguay sitting somewhere that I didn’t want to taste because I didn’t want to go blind. There were also the cavit pinot grigios, the beringer white zinfandels, and a whole mess of other stuff.
June 20, 2007

thabeav
Ouch. Predictable, but painful.

The only good Pinot I’ve had in that range is from Augistinos (Chile) from WL. Hmmm…maybe taste that one again on your next value pinot episode?

QOTD: I have had three Cali Chards in the 10-40 dollar range in the last week – ALL were nothing but buttered popcorn. I lost my left leg to the oak monster. WHY??? Why do they always use so much damn oak? In contrast, had a chablis from Servin yesterday- was absolutely amazing.

Gary – could you taste the SBRAGIA gamble valley chard? It’s 95 points from james laube, with more oak than a sawmill!! I’m interested to see how your palate compares to Laube’s.
June 20, 2007

EthanPSU
Gary thanks for trying to pull in the Israeli wine here! I’ll stop hassling you now… Just one more example of why the wine world needs to embrace the screw cap!!!
QOTD: Some red wine from the Ukraine which had a strange picture of a 19th century woman on the label but as for varietal I haven’t a clue. I could barely swallow it but the Ukranian girl I was with at the time had picked it up for dinner so I had to force it down with a lot of food. At least she thought I loved her cooking.
June 20, 2007

Jim H.
Gary,
Really, Pinot Noir ar those prices? I have yet to enjoy any Pinot under $12. When you get to $5 and $6, good God man!

QOTD: All Charles Shaw wine. Just dreadful stuff.
June 20, 2007

Megaton
Worst wine under ten bones?

Well, it was way under ten bones. It was basement wine from the town of Corniglia in the Cinque Terre. It was a golden, white wine that came in an apple juice bottle “corked” with a rolled up piece of wax paper stuffed in the neck. We were hiking through the Cinque Terre and stopped to buy wine out of an old woman’s basement because we read that they make good wine there. We drank it for the romance. Everyone was a hot mess the next day.
June 20, 2007

glenn
and who the hell opened a 05 SS Ten already? you didn’t like it? maybe b/c it is two years away from approachability?
June 20, 2007

nougat
Gaz, I’ve had the hold sign on pinot for the last few years and you just saved me a few bucks. Cheers!

I was recently gifted a 1.5L Aussie chardonnay, Masterpeace (nice play on words) which was pretty bad.
June 20, 2007

TWofPasadena
Gotta say I saw the results of this one coming before I even hit play. Sorry you had to put your palate though that, Gary. But hey, that’s why we love you.
June 20, 2007

glenn
great episode! i have to take this glass thru a carwash! instant classic. + a corked one.
June 20, 2007

vinovintner
Gary, Thanks for the Pinot Noir tasting. I suspected the outcome would be very dissapointing. I have tasted all three of these wines in the past and came to the conclusion that they are simply deplorable wines. It is very difficult to produce Pinot Noir and be able to sell it for less than ten bones.

Talus brings the grapes in from France. Let me think about this. How long does it take for the grapes to come from France. The grapes aren’t very fresh. They probably use juice that has been hot pressed and shipped in sealed containers. The hot press process significantly degrades the quality of the wine that is produced. I am certain that all of the Pinot’s that are priced very low are done so because they use the “hot press” procedure.

Hmmm, good winemaking practice is to work with grapes that are freshly picked. No wonder the wine stinks. Good Pinot Noir winemaking techniques requires cold soaking immediately after the grapes are harvested and a controlled primary fermentation that can last up to three weeks. Cheaper isn’t better in my book. You basically get what you pay for. Quality speaks for itself.

Should we be influenced by Hollywood? Absoultely not. We should trust our own palattes, not on what a fictious character says about wine in a movie.

One of the worst wines that I have ever experienced was Yellow Tail Cabernet/Merlot blend. Yuck. It was like drinking cough syrup. Two buck chuck is a bad example of what a cab should be. It is completely devoid of character with no complexity at all.
June 20, 2007

Tofferotti
Sad episode. I’m tired of all this wine that keeps disappointing. I know you do find some that is good but all that sticks out in my head is the bad stuff.

QOTD: Smoking loon Chardonnay and almost any white zin
June 19, 2007

Larry
Anything white zin (before I knew ANYthing about wine and still like to drink soda). There’s a crapload of bad vino out there – which I try to forget ASAP once encountered. I shall try to keep records for the future – mea culpa.
June 19, 2007

Mtn Charlie
Shadowbird, Don’t give up on Pinot. I have tasted some exceptionally fine Pinots.

Gary, I was hopeful, but I kind of saw that coming. A little surprised it was so devastatingly 0 for 4.

QOTD: Christian Brothers Cream Sherry
June 19, 2007

BW
QOTD – 2 bottles from west slope of Colorado. Absolutely the worst ever.
Can’t remember the vintage or producer, just remember they were the only 2 bottles
I ever poured down the drain – one white, one red… Bought just for fun, since we live in
Colorado. Do your self a favor, pass on anything from Colorado. I haven’t tasted a good one yet.
June 19, 2007

E
71 is so prime.

I guess that wasn’t a Zork on the last wine, after all.

The Mark West pinot is another French wine masquerading as Californian–Corsican actually, but it’s still nasty.

2005 Cerejeiras from Portugal was under $10 and not good, but I slagged it already, so instead a confession:

The other day I was wandering through the grocery wine aisle seeing if there was anything new in, when I was accosted by a passing hipster who had apparently decided I looked like I knew what I was doing.

So he admits to not knowing much about wine, and wants something sweet.

But before I give the riesling any thought, I see right in front of me a bottle of Yellow Tail shiraz/grenache, which I have had prior experience with.

Against my better judgment, I know it’s just the thing, but at least I remembered to make sure he wasn’t eating anything with it.

OK, all better.
June 19, 2007

Frank B
all two buck chucks. My sink got a real workout that day