Domaine Yum

Tonight we returned to Oregon, drinking yet another yummy Pinot Noir.  Seems like they can do no wrong in Oregon.  We had a 2006 Domaine Serene Yamhill Cuvee Pinot Noir.  $26 at LA Wine Company.  Normally, it seems that pinots from Domaine Serene are always top quality and fetch top dollar - $40 on up.  This was an excellent pinot noir, certainly worthy of the $26 price.  Great fruit, very lush and wonderful.  Don't tell them, but I think they could get more money for this wine..... 

So, with that thought, I just hopped on to the web - looks like they underpriced this - most everywhere else has this for $38+  -- love LA Wine Co!  Now we're gonna buy more!

Return of the King

Yeah, I just had to dork out a bit there - a little Lord of the Rings reference for my geek readers.  Tonight we tried the 2007 King's Ridge Pinot Noir.  $13 at the LA Wine Company.  A while back I reviewed the Cab/Syrah blend which was not fantastic.  But, in doing a little poking around on the web, I had learned that the pinot noir was the best liked of their wines.

Again, this is from Oregon, which is one of the new outstanding places for pinot noir - the soil and weather are great for it.  Unfortunately, they know it and charge big bucks for the good stuff like Beaux Freres, Domaine Serene and Dusky Goose, all in the $40-60 range.  Grapes in this one come from Willamette Valley and Umpqua Valley.

Well, for $13, this stuff is pretty good.  Not amazing, but a good QPR.  It's hard to find good, inexpensive pinot noir, but this I would recommend.  Nice nose - good fruit - a bit deeper than French pinot, which is typical of Oregon.  Nice flavor - sour cherry, a bit floral, light body.  Nice acidity, well balanced.  A little bit sour on the finish - almost like some of the stems got in there.  13.75% alcohol.  This is a good inexpensive example of Oregon pinot noir.  A solid wine - a good week night wine.