Carneros Pinot Noir

Well, Rachel had a super long day of work, so I decided she needed one of our favorite wines, Clos Du Val Pinot Noir (this was a 2006).  The Clos Du Val cab was one of the first wines we tried together that was over $20, and we've loved their stuff ever since.  In the interest of full disclosure, we've been members of their wine club for 3 years, ever since we visited their winery in Napa during our 1st wedding anniversary trip.  It was there that I fell in love with the "orbital" decanter that we purchased a short time later - it's a cool decanter.  Each year, we tend to buy a half case of either their regular pinot noir ($30/$24 for members) or the reserve pinot noir ($50/$40 for members.)

This is good stuff, although I think this vintage is not as good as the past few, but damn good, none-the-less.  Carneros (located in southern Napa Valley) is a nice cool spot for growing Pinot Noir, and this wine shows it.  If you like the new trend in pinots almost tasting like syrah, don't drink this.  It's light, soft tannins and mild cherry flavor.  Not the most complex stuff, but nice length.  Not sure how available this is in stores, but it's worth a try.