by Ethan Johnson
October 4, 2006

Pinot Noir is often called the "heartbreak grape". It's hard to grow, hard to ferment decent wine from it, and sometimes, hard to enjoy. I was won over by the placard at the local upscale grocery and took a flyer on this particular wine, knowing what was queued up for dinner tonight. Here's what I extracted the cork from this time:

Producer (Vineyard): Heron
Varietal (Grape type): Pinot Noir
Vintage (Year): 2004
Country: France
Color: Red
Cost: Inexpensive ($12 USD)

Swirl and Sniff: Ruby to purply red. The wine smelled "inky", which was odd. Normally I'd expect that from Petite Sirah. (My preferred red wine, if you're new to this section of the site.)

Taste: Hmmm. Very Petite Sirah-ish. So much so that I had to keep checking the label to make sure I opened the right bottle. Very inky, and heavy on the tannins. Over time I got a plum taste - but not like cough syrup, which is good.

Pairing: I paired this with a slow-cooked roast and buttery mashed potatoes. Good call. I noticed that the potatoes really gelled well with this wine, whereas the meat and wine tolerated each other but fortunately did not clash.

Rating: When it comes to this wine, I would (and you may):

• Buy a case of for regular enjoyment
• Buy a bottle or two for occasional enjoyment
• Ask for when dining out or at a party
• Settle for if your preferred wine is not available
• Politely decline and never drink again, ever

This isn't a wine I'd keep on hand per se, however if I were hosting a party and expecting a bevy of red wine drinkers this would be good to have on hand. I am using the Parducci Pinot Noir as my measuring stick, and if the chips are down I'd pick Parducci. However, if I saw this on a wine list in a restaurant and planned to order something sympatico I'd give it a go. Perhaps some additional cellaring (IF you're set up to do it correctly) or decanting would smooth this wine out some more. I noted that swirling the wine with gusto really smoothed over the biting tannins.

By the way, I have seen Pinot Noir referred to as a "white wine disguised as red". Ummm, there is a clear difference. I'd be hard pressed to pawn this off on a traditional white wine drinker and not have them notice (and complain about) the tannin content. FYI only.

If you do give this a try, please let me know how your experience compared with mine. Thanks! <EM>

(The Totally Unpretentious Wine Reviews Index may be found here.)