Being that there’s a person or two stopping by the Garage Bar at CorkEnvy tonight, I had to bite the bullet and pop open a wine in the middle of the afternoon. I picked something that I thought would be light and easy drinking to pair with a ham sandwich and today’s episode of My Name Is Earl. But, being that I was drinking earlier than is probably normal (and alone, no doubt), I decided to catch up on the last two days of the Fourth Hour of the Today Show—sipping a Pinot with KLG and Hoda seemed to somehow make the afternoon a bit less unseemly. And like KLG and Hoda, I sometimes tip a bottle a little earlier than most for the purposes of entertainment and education. I guess when you think about it, we’re all doing it for the kids…
2009 Estancia Pinot Noir Pinnacles Ranches, Central Coast, California
I popped and poured this Pinot Noir from California’s Central Coast with a ham sandwich.
On the nose, there was a decent enough strawberry and a slight cream. There was a bit of oak/spice, as well, and about 45 minutes in, I got some earthy notes, too.
The palate brought some black cherry and a touch of unripe strawberry. The Estancia Pinot was a bit thin-bodied and had a little alcohol burn on the finish. The fruit became a bit more concentrated as the wine sat open in the bottle for a while.
Overall, the Estancia Pinot is a wine. It’s not offensive, which is nice for a $10 Pinot Noir. This bottle would be decent enough to serve at a large(r) gathering as a light, easy drinking red or when you just wanted to taste wine without having to think about it much. I’m not in love with it, but I didn’t mind having a glass or so as I ate lunch and did a bit of housekeeping. I’ve got about ¾ of the bottle left that I’ll offer up when friends come to call at the Garage Bar in a bit.
Cheers from the Corkpit,
Stub