Left Behind, Montpellier Pinot Noir

Montpellier, California Pinot Noir- 2008

After sweeping up the chip crumbs, wiping down any and all flat surfaces of queso remains and searching for empty beer bottles in the rose bushes, there are a few pleasant elements of hosting the party at your place. Take for example: an assortment of microbrews left in the refrigerator, half full bottles of Tito's and Bacardi in the freezer, and a few unopened bottles of wine left on the counter.

The bottle of wine you see pictured above is the Montpellier, California Pinot Noir from 2008. Valued at $6.00, I was super-skeptical of this particular pinot. As many of you may know, pinot noir is one of the most expensive wines to produce because of the grape's sensitive and unstable characteristics in both growing and winemaking. Expensive to produce = expensive to buy. So, you can see why I was a little leery of a $6 bottle of Pinot from Napa. Pour, swirl, sniff and taste. The color is a juicy, vibrant, clear cherry red and the nose is bright and fruity. Flavors of light oak and young cherries, it is fruit forward and simple - simply pleasant. The finish is not long and there is hardly any complexity, but I would not expect that from a bottle of this price. But overall, this is a nice bargain wine. It is enjoyable to drink and well suited for a late summer's dinner. Do not expect too much out of the Montpellier and you will not be disappointed; I would recommend this for you easy drinkers (or the white wine fanatics).