Hello wine lovers and happy wine Wednesday!  I hope it has been a great week for you. It was our daughters 3rd birthday on September 12th and I keep marvelling at how fascinating she is – I do feel blessed to have her…She wants to be a ballerina and some days a doctor – not a bad combo!

On to the wine selection of the week – The People’s Pinot Noir 2011 from New Zealand.  I have to admit it, here and now, I was attracted to the label.  I hear from my readers and friends more often than not – an attractive label is how they choose a wine and I guess I am in the club now too.

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This Pinot Noir is pale, ruby-red in colour with some developing aromas of savoury, and mushroom along with a mild vanilla spice and red and black cherry.  On the palate – “The People’s” Pinot Noir is medium acidity, medium minus body and medium in alcohol.  It has medium tannins that I found quite ‘rough’ and out of balance with a medium flavour intensity.  There are flavours of some red fruit, a hint of a savoury note, some dried herbal flavours and a bit of spice.

This is definitely not a favourite of mine.  I found this Pinot Noir lacking in balance and complexity yet it was trying to be ‘all that AND a bag of chips’.  It smells better than it tastes and it looks pretty on the outside with a very bold label.  Darn – I was sucked in.  It doesn’t rank as low as ‘Strongly Dislike’ so I will put it in the ‘In The Mood’ category if you want to spend under $20 on a Pinot Noir from New Zealand.

Well – that was a disappointment after last week’s review out of Italy.  Oh well – they can’t always be “Hell Yes” reviews or you would begin to wonder about me, wouldn’t you?  This isn’t a bad Pinot Noir – I just didn’t really enjoy my experience with it.  Truthfully – good and great wines are wines that you enjoy the taste of – quite simple.  I had high hopes for this as it can be daunting to find a well-priced Pinot Noir.  At $17.99 in the B.C. Liquor Stores, it is a definite ‘In The Mood’ option for you.

  • Not a GGG favourite – a bit out of balance and lacking for me.
  • $17.99 is not a bad price for a New Zealand Pinot Noir.
  • Pair with Turkey Burgers on the BBQ.
  • Side note – I tried a glass the next day and it had opened up – so let this baby breathe if you are going to take the plunge!

That is it for me this week!

Let’s hope for a better review next Wednesday!

Enjoy!
XO
C