Best 2009 California Pinot Noirs Under $30

In my prior post about Wine Spectator's 2009 California Pinot Noir ratings I mentioned I'd be talking more about the best values under $30. I'll get into that in today's post, but before going further I'd like to encourage you to subscribe to Wine Spectator.

I truly enjoyed reading through this Pinot Noir issue in particular. There's something unmatchable about taking a break from staring at the computer monitor and thumbing through glossy pages while enjoying a glass of wine. The issues arrive with higher frequency this time of year, covering the most interesting categories for the upcoming holiday buying season, so it's a great time to subscribe.

You can even use airline miles (here's how) and once you have a print subscription you can get an online subscription for 50% off. I constantly refer to their ratings database. Not just for the scores but for production levels, prices, and historical rating trends for a given winery.

But the thing I like best about the magazine is how it turns me on to new producers.

If we look at the top rated 2009 California Pinot Noirs they've rated so far, cap the price at $30, and sort based on the WWP QPR (what's that?) we find a select group of wines:


Price Rating WWP QPR
 Loring Pinot Noir Russian River Valley $29 93 2.07
 Loring Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands $29 93 2.07
 Siduri Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands $29 92 1.64
 Chasseur Pinot Noir Sonoma County $30 92 1.59
 Alta Maria Pinot Noir Santa Maria Valley $28 91 1.35
 Siduri Pinot Noir Russian River Valley $29 91 1.30
 Siduri Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast $29 91 1.30
 Laguna Ridge Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast $20 89 1.19
 Sarapo Pinot Noir Carneros-Sonoma County Donato $20 89 1.19

I touched on Loring and Siduri in my prior post. I consider them to be cornerstones of value in California Pinot Noir and once we get past them we see a few names that might not be as familiar.

First - Chasseur. Their $30, 92 point 2009 Sonoma County Pinot Noir is one to seek out. I've tried two bottles of the wine and each time I've been impressed (91-92 points). The CellarTracker median for this wine is currently 90.5. They produced 562 cases of the 2009 Sonoma County and distribute to the east coast so there is still an opportunity to buy this wine at retail. I bought mine at Grapes the Wine Co in White Plains, NY (review of the store here - I think he still has some). Consult Wine-Searcher for retailers with availability near you.

The next producer is new to me - Alta Maria. They've got a tasting room in Los Olivos and although they've submitted wines to Spectator for review previously none have been rated 90 or better. Spectator rated their 2009 Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir 91 points and The Wine Advocate's Antonio Galloni rated it 92 points so there's multiple critics praising this vintage for them. The CellarTracker median is currently 89.5 and with 1,660 cases produced we see some availability across the country at retail with prices as low as $22.94. Might be a good mailing list to get on as well.

Strangely, it's hard to get excited about 89 point rated wines (c'mon, admit it - it is). But given the $20 price point of the last two wines on the list they're worth discussing:

Laguna Ridge is a second label from Lynmar who produces Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from (mostly) the Russian River Valley in Sonoma. Lynmar's Pinots range in price between $40 and $120 and Spectator rated their 2009s between 88 and 94 points. 492 cases of the 2009 Laguna Ridge Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir were produced. No CellarTracker ratings yet. Scarce availability at retail so far.

Sarapo resells small lots of wine from artisan wineries. It's run by Eric Kent's winemakers and deals mostly in the grape varieties Eric Kent is known for: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah.. The 89 point 2009 Sarapo Pinot Noir Carneros-Sonoma County Donato can be found at retail for $19.99 and eligible for mixed case discounts which would bring it down to $16.99 or so. One to consider on the more affordable end of the spectrum. There's even some availability in Massachusetts.

Conclusion

While there are a few new names to discover here, we haven't seen any mindbending QPRs revealed - at least not yet. It's been mostly a "get what you pay for" vintage as notable for the highly regarded producers who were snubbed (more on that another time perhaps) as it was for the reliable producers who delivered great wines in a great vintage.

That doesn't mean it's a bad vintage to buy from - far from it. It just means that for the most part we'll have to pay $25 and up to get an outstanding bottle of California Pinot Noir.

But that doesn't mean there's not a few gems out there Spectator didn't rate. Or that we just don't agree on. Check back later this week and I'll share my tasting notes for the 25+ 2009 California Pinot Noirs I've tried so far. I think there'll be some gems in there worth discovering.

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Question of the Day: What are some of your favorite affordable California Pinot Noir producers?


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WellesleyWinePress/~3/yV46-wE0p5o/best-2009-california-pinot-noirs-under.html

Maggie Grace Maggie Gyllenhaal Majandra Delfino Malia Jones

American Sommelier Association ? 6 Day Training in Napa Valley

I received this information from the American Sommelier Association and thought I would pass this on to our readers. In these economic times there are many out of work or in transition wanting to shift careers. Perhaps this intensive course may pave the way for a future career in the wine business. It appears that there are some scholarship funds that can reduce the cost of the training course by 50%. Continue reading

Source: http://www.winecountrygetaways.com/napablog/american-sommelier-association-6-day-training-in-napa-valley/

Piper Perabo Poppy Montgomery Portia de Rossi Rachael Leigh Cook

Who Will Be The First Wine Blogger Who Raps?

My morning routine starts with visits to my various email accounts and concludes with a quick scan of my Winecast Gmail. If I have the time, I sometimes open my Google Reader to see what blog posts have come in overnight. This morning I stopped in my tracks at a post on Vinography which pointed [...]

Who Will Be The First Wine Blogger Who Raps? originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Winecast/~3/phZa9getlqs/

Natalie Zea Natasha Bedingfield Natassia Malthe Nelly Furtado

Field Notes from a Wine Life ? Trend Edition

Odds and ends from a life lived through the prism of the wine glass…

The Devil’s Cut

I’m a sucker for the clever and unconventional, I admit it.  One such bit of cleverness isn’t even wine-related, though it is oak barrel related.

Most wine enthusiasts are familiar with the, “Angel’s Share.”  It’s a term that denotes the wine (or spirits) that is lost from a barrel due to evaporation during the aging process.  Now comes the, “Devil’s Cut” from Jim Beam.

Using a proprietary process that extracts the bourbon moisture that’s left in the staves of the barrel after being emptied, this extract is then blended with regular Jim Bream to create a deeper, more characterful sipper.

I’d hate to think what a wine might taste like if the, “Devil’s Cut” was blended in from a wine-aged oak barrel, but a thumb’s up to Jim Beam for thinking outside the box.  The wine world could use more esoteric and idiosyncratic ideas similar to what the Scholium Project is doing, turning wine on its head.  Can a day be too far away when white Pinot Noir and orange wines aren’t outliers?

Speaking of Idiosyncratic

Last year I wrote a story on Proof Wine Collective and their out-of-the-box wine label design work.  An edgy company of twenty-something’s in San Luis Obispo, they’re set to eschew a services-oriented business helping market other people’s wine projects and start their own wine thing.

Anti-wine by the guys at Proof sets the table for what’s to come with an Anti-wine Manifesto that says in part, “I can hear the death rattle of our industry when salespeople peddle wines made and re-made in the same style, over and over.  I hear it when they glorify classism, pretending that customers own a cellar to age wines for decades, when in truth we buy a bottle to drink tonight…My goal with this project is to be free from the affectations of an industry I can no longer respect.  These wines follow no formulae (Ed. Note:  Nice use of the plural of formula!). They are blended between vintages in order to take the best traits of each.  I regard red and white varietals as equals, and intermix them with no interest in what is “sellable.”

I like idea, for sure.  However, initial reverberations indicate that they’re going to have to do some traditional-type activity in the wine business to get solid footing.  Sales at retail.  Wine events.

If a nascent wine brand truly wants to be free from the affectations of the industry and do so without being shticky then it has to be prepared to swim completely against the current. 

I’m rooting for Anti-wine, but I’d also like to see a completely new playbook written for the wine business, not a statement of intent while coloring inside the lines.

Tastevin

I’ve read a couple of recent articles that indicate that watches are set to become a trend (here and here).  This struck me as odd because I hadn’t received the memo that watches were out of style.  I started to think about accessories for wine enthusiasts that are decidedly out of style and I came to the tastevin.

image

Traditionally used by Sommeliers, but long out of favor, the only reason I know it’s not a mythical unicorn, is because a Somm. at my honeymoon resort some years ago was wearing one and checking the quality of the bottles he was serving by taking a quick sniff and slurp.

Now inspired, I’m starting a one-man wine trend.  If you see me at a wine tasting in the future it’s probable that I’ll be using a tastevin instead of the insipid glassware that’s usually provided.

Feel free to adopt usage of a tastevin for yourself.  The key to not feeling douchey is to either be incredibly confident or so hip that others don’t even know its hip.  Either will work for this emerging trend that you and I are starting.  Buy one at Amazon.com.

Source: http://goodgrape.com/index.php/site/field_notes_from_a_wine_life_trend_edition/

Scarlett Johansson Selita Ebanks Shakara Ledard Shakira

Domaine Pierre Usseglio

I frequently participate in press-wine tastings in Copenhagen. Normally its about tasting the recent vintage or vintages from a particular wine producer - maybe with one or two older vintages. Nothing wrong with that. Its always the latest vintage that is going on the shelves and where the need for good press is welcomed. But I [...]

Source: http://www.wine4freaks.com/42/domaine-pierre-usseglio/

Michelle Trachtenberg Mila Kunis Milla Jovovich Minka Kelly

Top Ten Differences Between Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley

Having lived both in Sonoma Valley and Napa Valley, I've developed some opinions and observations about these two very different but neighboring wine country locations. The visitor to the region should be aware of these differences if only to be...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FermentationTheDailyWineBlog/~3/TIoZTNc3o1o/visiting-wine-country-napa-valley-v-sonoma-valley.html

Lori Heuring Lorri Bagley Lucy Liu Luján Fernández