The first Royal Tannin Bomb Pinot Noir tasting is complete! Unfortunately it won’t be our last Pinot Noir tasting…
The Contenders:
2005 Hawley Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, 13.9% abv, $29.99
2006 Cambria Julia’s Vineyard Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir, 13.9% abv, $15.99
2006 Chalone Estate Grown Chalone The Pinnacles Monterey County, Pinot Noir, No. 019676, 14.7% abv, $27.99
2006 Frédéric Magnien Morey-Saint-Denis Côte d’Or Bourgogne, 13% abv, $17.99
Read The Royal Tannin Bomb’s detailed report here.
What do’ya think? Please comment below.
09/04/2009 at 3:56 pm Permalink
I have to agree with the Badman. I don’t really like the Pinot flavor profile either and am close to concluding my fondness lo’ those many years ago for a certain Gevrey-Chambertin Bourgogne is credited to nostalgia and a youthful palate. The wines in this tasting, except for the 2006 Frédéric Magnien Morey-Saint-Denis Côte d’Or Bourgogne, were all drinkable enough, and true, the Chalone was the uncontested star of the evening, but life is too short to drink wine you don’t really LIKE!
We Royals will take one more for the team to do adequate service to this purported “King of grapes” but after the Tier 1 tasting, I’m pretty sure I won’t be seeking out this varietal for home consumption. There are just so many really wonderful reds out there to pop and pour: Merlot, Zin, Cab, Petite Sirah, etc., so why buy an over-priced, over-lauded disappointment? Unless of course you’ve got a Romanee Conti or La Tache you’re just dying to share with a certain cellar mistress…
10/04/2009 at 12:56 pm Permalink
I thought Cab Sauv meant “King of Grapes”, but yes people sure seem to laud Pinot Noir – talk about the emperor has no clothes.