This week’s first Oregon Pinot Noir is the 2008 A to Z Oregon Pinot Noir. It carries the “Oregon” designation because, unlike the 2006 Roco Pinot Noir I’ll be reviewing later this week, its grapes are not sourced solely from the Willamette Valley but rather from vineyards throughout the State. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Indeed, with a fickle grape like Pinot Noir, sourcing grapes from other, perhaps less well known regions is one way winemakers are able to keep the retail value down on their wines. This wine is a perfect example, in fact, weighing in at just $15.99/bottle from K&L Wine Merchants, the 2008 A to Z is certainly an affordable bottle of Pinot Noir.
As for how it tastes, this wine isn’t likely to be the winning wine of Week 48 of the CorkPopper Project – it is not unpleasant with nice red fruit, spice and earthiness, but there is something slightly unbalanced about the finish. J likened it to those Sweet Tart candies we all used to eat as a kid. I didn’t exactly get Sweet Tarts but agree that the finish wasn’t precisely my cup of tea (or wine, as it were). Because it’s not exactly a complex wine, you could easily pair this one with a multitude of foods, including, for example, some pork chops with juicy poached (or grilled plums) or a pasta with some arrabiatta (spicy tomato) sauce.
Despite its simplicity, the price point really does give this wine a boost in my mind, leading me to give it a solid 3 corks popped.
Cheers!
