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 20, 2007

DARREL LAS VEGAS
CHARLES SHAW you cant even cook with this stuff or give it to someone you DON’T like!
June 20, 2007

thkorent
QOTD: It was an Italian Chianti from cecchi. can’t remember the vintage but back off across all of ‘em.
June 20, 2007

Lurkerdog
GVNC: Very timely QOTD. Last night I opened a $9.99 Zinfandel and it was terrible. It tasted like I bit into an oak tree that was soaked in Tobasco sauce. It was hyped by one of your competitors as “A great deal on boutique Napa Zin…was $22, now only $9.99!” 2002 Rockledge Napa Zinfandel. By the way have you ever tasted Two-buck Chuck on your show?
June 20, 2007

Lawrence Leichtman
Worst under $10 wines, certainly anything from Lindeman will fit that category, what a terrible producer of wines to begin with. The worst I’ve ever had were wines from a Missouri winery called Wiedeker. Really awful crap.

I’m surprised you even attempted this. Pinot Noir is a delicate grape and no, not because Miles said so. Going around to over 100 wineries that produce Pinots in 6 countries that is the word from every winemaker and supply/demand makes expense so good Pinot Noir has to be sourced from good grapes in the first place. Anybody buying juice out of the country (and that Talus was juice not grapes when they got it) will produce poor wines in my experience. Yes, many CA wineries in CA source their grapes (not juice) from other places in CA but they do their own crushes and at least control that aspect of production. All of the wines you tasted were just attempts to climb on the Pinot band wagon. Where Pinot Noir is grown in Italy and Israel tends to be too hot for Pinot as well.
June 20, 2007

Jen Loves Wine
Hey Gary — was hoping for the best on this one, but after some early experiences with
June 20, 2007

Kirk
QOTD: The WORST under $10 bottle of wine I have had was the Cline “Cote de Oakley” 2002 white last summer.

Andy: Look for Vox Populi a romanian Pinot Noir. It’s $9 here in Maine or Firesteed from Oregon ($14). Remember with Pinot it’s really hard to find good bottles. These bottles are average run of the mill 80 point wines in my book. Nothing special or that I would want to drink on a daily basis. If you got the Pinot bug splurge and really enjoy your wines every now & again. I would rather drink one very nice bottle a month ($40) than 4 blaze’ bottles. What about you?
June 20, 2007

Wandamae
By now you….and we….know there is really no such thing as any good wine under $10 and $5.01 is really desperate. Gary….you should ‘up the annie’ just a tad and keep these episodes out. They are a waste of time and energy and I think by now your audience is more educated.

With that said…hmmm under $10….haven’t had lately…unless you count the Merlots over $25 blind tasting I went to where someone bagged a 2 Buck for fun. It was immediately discovered and dumped. Tasted like the Hollywood Hills fire.
June 20, 2007

Brett M
QOTD: Sticking with the theme of bad cheap Pinot, Vampire Pinot Noir from Romania for 7 bucks. Worst swill I’ve ever tasted.
June 20, 2007

Andy
QOTD— I guess it was Night Train when the funds were low….
June 20, 2007

Ken
QOTD: Any Fontera Cab Merlot blend from Chile.

Q: Can anyone recommend a good Pinot Noir for uder 15 bones? Thx.
June 20, 2007

Pastore
QOTD: Two Buck Chuck Cab. ’nuff said.
June 20, 2007

bruce gardner
The reason wines this bad are produced is because people keep buying them. Yuk. I disagree with your dcore on the Talus. I don’t think it even deserves the minumum score.
June 20, 2007

luvgrapesqeezings
QOD: Cisco wine or ‘wine-drink’ is the worst. I had it once when I was 23 y/o
and I got a headache as soon as it had hit my lips!!!!!!!!!!
Gary, you should give a shout out to all the Andre lurkers out there.
June 20, 2007

GottaGoDrink
Gary- No surprises in this episode. I am still looking for any pinot from CA that I like. I haven’t given up, but…

QOTD- Former life- MD 20/20, although it delivered a huge alcohol hit. Current life- 2001 Buckeley’s Shiraz, indescribably terrible and an RP89.
June 20, 2007

DryDrew
….. What a nightmare!

(Hay that last bottle dos not count Gary! And dos not solve “THIS” issue)
June 20, 2007

dadobs
What an ep, GV–like watching a three Yugo pile-up on I-80.

QOTD: Forest Glen merlot was pretty bad and reminded me of spoiled seaweed. OEven better: dandilion “wine” from the Amana Colony Iowa winery. We all burped up flowers for three damn days. Scarred me and my intestines for life.
June 20, 2007

Halden
Cheap Pinot Noir is like the movie that inspired the PN Trend unimpressive.
June 20, 2007

TSchampaert
Tough ep Gary. Surprised that you didn’t get a bottle to rinse your palate … .
QOTD: A Barbera d’Asti of Capetta. Tasted like wet cardboard with pigeon droppings and charred Brussels sprouts. Horrible …
June 20, 2007

Elliot Essman
My worst under $10 wine – and this lists for $9 at WL so I suppose the taste-challenged guest who brought it may have paid more – was the Corvo Red. I read somewhere they produce a million cases of this a year.
June 20, 2007

Herm
I think it would have to be Ripple…..If you mix Ripple with Champagne you get Champipple….Don’t try it
June 20, 2007

GeneV
Love the glass!!! Reminds me of a great evening. Memorable episode–lowest ratings ever.

Worst under $5 wine was in France–Vin de Pays for the equivalent of 10 cents a bottle (in 1979). Industrial cleaning fluid.
June 20, 2007

Oleg I.
Louis Latour Pinot Noir 2005, 7.99
June 20, 2007

MC Dubs
If I remember correctly, the Can-Am Connection was Rick Martel (aka “The Model”) and Tom Zenk. I just checked Wikipedia and Tito Santana and Martel were a tag team back in the day, but they were called Strike Force.

QOTD: The red champagne I had at the town “festival” in the Italian Alps between my junior and senior years of college. I don’t know what was in it – or why I kept drinking it – but it was very wrong on so many levels.
June 20, 2007

SP
Nice episode Gary, I am thinking about one day doing a Pinot Noir Challenge, a blind tasting consisting of: 1 or 2 Cali, 1 or 2 Oregon, 1 or 2 Burgandy. Depends on the number of people I get. If only one, would try to keep in the $20/btl price range. If two from each, have 1 15-20 dollars, and then the other 25+.
June 20, 2007

Ryan D
Wow… tough episode!!! Hopefully you can do Pinot Noir again soon and actually give us some to try, haha.

QotD: Sutter Home Merlot, baby… had a nose of urinal mints and I would rather drink… um, pretty much anything.