Finally, an actual, damn good Pinot Noir, for under $20.
I’ve often said “Pinots are like Porsches. Good ones are expensive, and bad ones are also expensive.” A truly great Pinot Noir is a treasure, but they are elusive, and usually expensive. In my experience “cheap” Pinot Noirs are often terrible. As the years roll by, I’ve pretty much given up on trying to buy Pinots. I’m supplied with a regular amount of passable Pinots from my Cameron Hughes wine club, which satisfies the cravings of “Testa Rossa” my red-headed Pinot-loving dining companion, and nothing goes better with a grilled/planked salmon that a light Pinot on a summer’s evening.
Beyond those offerings from Mr. Hughes, I have snagged a dozen or so great Oregon Pinot Noirs from some winery tours we have had the pleasure of doing on some long weekends in the Willamette Valley. Testa Rossa is from that part of the world and both of us have kids that have gone all hipster and live in Portland. Visiting the grown-up kids makes for a nice grown-up excuse to tour some wineries. Oregon has some amazing Pinot producers, all within a very short drive of Portland. None of their products fall within the scope of this blog however. The bottles I’ve bought on these tours range in price from $40, to well over $100. Are they great? Certaily. But not cheap. It is damn near impossible to find a great value Pinot Noir from Oregon.
Until now.
I didn’t buy this bottle, but some poking around online pegs the price well below twenty bucks (Vivino app says avg price is $15.99). It was a gift to us from a guest. I opened it a few nights ago. I honestly expected something dismal, and girded my loins in preparation. Nose into the glass… “ah” Take the first sip… “oooh” “Not bad!”
I would never call this a “great Pinot” but it certainly isn’t a bad one. In fact I’m giving it the grade of “damn good”
So if you’re looking to find a damn good cheap Pinot, go to Joe.
You must be logged in to post a comment.