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Sunday, August 31, 2008

2006 Three Knights Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

I believe it was in an old issue of Wine Spectator where I read Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley is probably the safest bet. Is it safe even if it's a measly seven bucks from Trader's Joe's?

A bit of strawberry, a bit of vanilla, and a bit of funk on the nose.

Lots of vanilla – strong enough that it's weird – some cherry, strawberry, mild tannins, and solid acid – a good structure all around.

The tannins come forward on the finish with some lingering strawberry notes.

I can't argue with this as a bottle of cheap wine, but if you're looking for a good quality Pinot Noir, look away.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Every time I go to Trader Joe's I have an internal battle when looking over the cheaper Pinot options. Logic versus impulse. Logic saying there is no way it is remotely good for under $10 and impulse trying to convince me otherwise. Thanks for adding some weight to the logic side of the coin!

Anonymous said...

The TJ "exclusive" Blason de Bourgogne isn't half bad and it's only six bucks or so. I had a 2006 not long ago and it underwhelmed, but I distinctly recall the 2004 being fantastic (I'll concede that my memory may be off).