Todd Lauren 2009 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, $19.99

OK. I've never seen the movie Sideways (with my girl Sandra Oh, who plays Dr. Yang on Grey's Anatomy), but apparently it gave pinot noir a shot at stardom. It also crapped all over my beloved oakey chardonnay, but that's beside the point. The point is, I don't care what wine is popular (hence the reason you don't see me buying pinot grigio), I just go with what I think tastes good. If you happen to respect and/or appreciate my tasting notes, great. If not, that's great too.

So this wine came recommended to me by Bruce at Stew Leonard's. It's very pretty in the glass, a sort of red ruby/purple amethyst gem color that's so clear I can practically see through it. It's a heavy-bodied light body wine - does that make sense? It starts off as a sheet but, after 60 seconds, forms legs if left undisturbed long enough. I suppose that would make it heavy-bodied, but I'm leaving it as somewhere in the middle. The nose is very Old World, smelling of tannins & sour. On second sniff, it smells gamy & leathery, almost like a shoe in the oven with a Cornish hen.

Great, a sneaker in the oven with a roast chicken. Yeah, I know, doesn't sound too appealing to me, either.

One of the many reasons I love wine is that oftentimes, the wine doesn't taste at all like how the wine smells. In this case, that's a great thing. I get this very pretty flower/berry taste in my mouth, like daisies & blackberries mixed together, with a little bit of earthy, minerally flavors lurking on the tail end. It's smooth & silky on the palate, without a hint of alcohol burn or tingle. That's impressive, given the 13.8% alcohol content.

This is a nice wine that impresses me, but doesn't blow me away. And lets face it, $20 for a bottle of wine isn't cheap. I can think of wines at the ten-dollars-and-under price point (see http://chicksreviewcheapwine.blogspot.com/ for more details) that are nice bottles to relax with on a Wednesday night. I can also come up with other bottles for $20 or better, even pinot noirs, that'll knock my socks off for the same exact price. So, while I enjoyed this wine, I won't purchase it again.

Cheers!

Kate

P.S. Now, that bottle of Mohua, on the other hand, I've already bought again. And the Rodney Strong Russian River Valley pinot noir, too.

P.P.S. I'd like to send out a very special "F**k You" to Governor Dan Malloy for not only raising the sales tax yesterday and putting our state workers' jobs in jeopardy, but for also imposing a luxury tax on cars over $50,000, jewelry over $4000, gasoline, cigarettes, manis/pedis, hairdressing services & wine. I hope he pulls a John G. Rowland & gets arrested sometime during his term.