I was almost ready to write up this summary on my Quest for a Good, Cheap Pinot Noir when I noticed that more recent vintages of my top two picks were on the shelves.  To be relevant to those shopping now, I had to pick them up to ensure they are worthy of top picks.  And wouldn’t you know it… the newer vintages didn’t hold up.

So what does that mean?  There is no clear winner.  Yep, the naysayers won (those bastards).  There is not a great, cheap pinot noir that I could find.  That said, there are some decent mediocre ones.

One of the frustrations of a cheap wine aficionado is that sometimes your picks just don’t work out.  The good news is, when that happens it’s only a few bucks and not a $40+ bottle of disappointing wine.

So what were the top picks that didn’t work out with more recent vintages? 

• Rosemount Estate Pinot Noir 2004 was my original top pick with a rating of 89.
• Mark West Vin de Corse Pinot Noir 2005 was my second pick with an 88.

The 2006 vintage of Rosemount Estate Pinot Noir dropped to an 84 rating.  It’s still an OK bottle of wine, but it’s nothing exceptional.  It offers cherry, apple and vanilla on the nose.  It has a somewhat fruity palate with strawberry, plum and apple, but all are subtle.  The tannins are soft and it has a medium length finish that lacks complexity.  It also cost a dollar more than the 2004 vintage cost me… damn inflation!

The 2006 vintage of Mark West Pinot Noir fared a little better.  Now I should note that Mark West puts out Pinot Noir from different regions and the only 2006 release that I’ve found is from California versus the 2005 I tasted with French grapes.  The 2006 Mark West has a smoke, vanilla, red raspberry and cherry on the nose.  I did enjoy the nice, warm mouth feel.  Plum, cherry, raspberry and earth make up the palate.  It has dry tannins and a medium length finish.  I gave it an 86.

Others Worth Mentioning

I gave a reluctant 88 to 47 Pound Rooster Pinot Noir from HRM Rex-Goliath! Wines.  The reason it’s a reluctant 88 is that it has no vintage.  As you can see with the Rosemount Estate example above, there can be quite a difference from one vintage to the next.  I don’t like wines that keep vintage a mystery as I just don’t know what I’m getting. 

Another worth mentioning is the Pepperwood Grove Pinot Noir 2005.  I gave it an 87 and I can still remember the crisp spiciness of this wine.  It was enjoyable.  I’m sure the 2006 is on the shelves by now and I haven’t tried it yet… that will be up to you.

The Ratings Chart

As a part of my summaries I like to include a chart of all my wine ratings for that category so that you can get a quick glance at what I tasted and how it rated.