Wild Horses.... couldn't drag me away....

The classic Rolling Stones song sings it's way through my memory as I sip the last glass of 2008 Wild Horse Pinot Noir for the evening.... Such a mellow but powerful tune... leaves an impression, doesn't it?  The same can be said for the 2008 Wild Horse Pinot.

The beauty of this wine, in my opinion, is that the Wild Horse Winery website has no information posted yet on this vintage... as of today.  Of course, the elegant and complex 2007 is mentioned as well as the 2006... guess it's a bit early in the game... like the first verse of the Stones tune.... you don't know how great it really is until you hear it over and over again... or, in this case, taste it again and again...

Wild Horses... couldn't drag me away... indeed!

I'm a fan of Wild Horse Winery and I have been for about 5 years now; especially after tasting their Unbridled Pinot.  At this point in time, however, I have to say that the last 2 vintages of the Central Coast Pinot are two of my favorites from this winery.  Very approachable... I mean, er, uh, drinkable wines.  Yes, drinkable.  Just pour 'em and drink 'em....

Childhood living is easy to do.... the things you wanted, I bought them for you... and on and on and on...

Tonight, I paired the 2008 with some bacon-wrapped sea scallops with strawberry chutney.... artichokes... romaine salad with Roma tomatoes, purple onion, orange bell peppers, and avocado... chicken skewers....

And the wine is all that I can crank it up to be... kind of cranking up the Stones... this wine is meant to be heard.  It's got all of those gentle pinot-like characteristics... the soft spice notes, the mineral-like texture, and a soft strawberry nose... but this little horse has finesse and structure as well!  Didn't break down for a moment throughout the meal.  Not for a minute.

The things you wanted, I bought them for you....

And I'm buying more.  Pure an simple.  The 2008 Wild Horse Central Coast Pinot is a fantastic bargain, and would be worth twice the price, actually.  It's not just good for the price, it's just good.

Cheers!

Mark West Pinot....

I love cheap Pinot... not cheap tasting... cheap price tag. So many Pinot's are simply overpriced. Although Pinot can sometimes become my favorite wine... i.e. the 2003 Fort Ross Symposium - mentioned in an earlier blog or 2.... but many are simply disappointing... not because they are bad wines... no! Many are really good.... but not worth even $50.

For example.... on New Years Eve, we opened a bottle of 2005 Archery Summit Red Hill - $80. It was good... very nice wine. Worth $80? Hell no. If I had paid about $25, I'd have been happy - good bang for the buck at that price level. By contrast, about 10 days ago, we opened a bottle of 2005 Torii Mor.... about $44.... much more depth and balance than the Red Hill... at about half the price.

This is where the cheap Pinot comes in.... I love Pinot from Carmel Road, Mark West, some of the Castle Rock, etc. Do they blow my mind? No. But I love the way they taste - simple, slightly elegant, and food friendly with many dishes... most have just enough acidity to provide balance at dinnertime - and enough fruit on the nose to round things out.

Yeah, I know some of these have just a bit of Syrah and I mention this in one of my earlier blogs - that Syrah should be listed on the label much the same way that Shiraz/Viognier is labeled. That said, I just assume that the cheap pinot may have a bit of syrah, give up my need for self-congratulating wine snobbery, and just pour the darn thing into a glass and enjoy it.

Cheers!

Oregon Pinot... overrated?

The first time I visited Willamette Valley, I was stunned and blown away. I visited Ponzi, Archery Summit, Domaine Serene, Domaine Drouhin, White Rose.... I think there were a few others as well.

I couldn't believe the diversity in Pinot that I tasted that day... and, as usual when tasting a lot of wine in one day, the wines just keep getting better and better. It also helped that it was a beautiful May day and everything was so green... much greener than in most of Southern California, where I live.

I singed up for all kinds of wine clubs... I couldn't wait to tell everyone I knew that was into wine how this new discovery had opened my eyes. Within the next 4-6 weeks, a UPS truck was at our house at least 2 times a week delivering more of this wonderful wine. At that point, I looked at my AMEX bill and decided it was time to quit the wine clubs.

But now I had a lot of Pinot! Pinot! Pinot!

It's all gone now... along with a bunch of other Pinot that I've had over the last 2 years while comparing wineries, vintages, and regions... you can add Sea Smoke, Williams Selyem, Sanford, Castle Rock, Carmel Road, Domaine Alfred, Flowers.... a whole bunch of Pinot People to the list...

And, my favorite so far?

The 2003 Fort Ross Sonoma Coast Symposium... about $30. I like it better than all of the above. Too bad I only bought one bottle.

Cheers!

Is that really Pinot?

I've tasted it... and had no idea what it was. At first, I thought it was just a really bold ten dollar pinot noir. It wasn't unpleasant... heck, wine has to be really bad to actually be unpleasant... like that two-buck stuff.... oh well.

I love pinot. It's probably my favorite wine - but it costs so darn much. So, I'm always glad to find that one of the wine mags has rated an under $15 bottle in the high 80's.... gives me hope. So, I usually go and buy one... or two... and usually enjoy them as well!

These "low end" pinots aren't the most complex of wines... not a whole bunch of finesse or elegance... but they're tasty. And some are a bit bolder than their more expensive counterparts... recently, I found out where those dark berry and sometimes peppery nuances were coming from..... Syrah.

Yeah, like Viognier is added in 5% lots to some Australian Shiraz (and recently the Denner Dirt Worshiper), I learned that some pinot has been 'enhanced' by the addition of 3-5% Syrah. Does it taste bad? No... but Syrah is such a bold grape, it somewhat distorts the more delicate flavors of pinot.

I was disappointed to learn this.... mostly because, when I buy pinot, I've been naiively believing that it was 100%. Darn.

Now here's the solution... like those Aussie blends, why not sell these Pinots as "95% Pinot Noir, 5% Syrah". Nothing like truth in advertising, huh?

Where does this wind up? I have no idea. It just added a bit of cynicism to my enjoyment of relatively cheap Pinot.... but, then again, I'm a bit of a purist. If you say it's pinot, then it's pinot. If you blend it.... well, as much as I enjoy guessing games, this isn't one of 'em.