1. Home
  2. Wine
  3. Regions
  4. Californian
  5. Wine
  6. Harlow Ridge Pinot Noir – Gold Medal Wine?

Harlow Ridge Pinot Noir – Gold Medal Wine?

4.68K
0

As a man on a quest to find the best wine bargains out there, I keep an eye out for awards won by inexpensive wines and make a note to check those out for myself.  Just a couple months ago, right here in Cincinnati, the 2007 Harlow Ridge Pinot Noir was awarded one of only nine gold medals in the Cincinnati International Wine Festival.  I was a judge for that festival but the Harlow Ridge was not in the group of wines that I evaluated, and so I thought I’d give this one a shot.

The Harlow Ridge brand is part of the Bronco Wine Company portfolio of wines.  This is the company best known for producing 2 Buck Chuck, and they have a number of bargain wine brands.  Speaking of bargains, this wine sells for about $10, which is why it caught my eye when it won a gold medal.

So, how does it measure up?

Harlow Ridge Pinot Noir

The aromatics are surprisingly rich for a wine of this price.  Violet, cherry, cola and truffle bring good complexity at a reasonable intensity.  Right out of the bottle the nose is prevalent, which is pleasantly surprising.  The palate doesn’t measure up as strong as the nose for me.  It seems a touch off balance to the acidic side, but not dramatically so.  There is a good fruit flavors with cherry, rhubarb and plum.  And a hint of coffee adds more complexity.  The finish is relatively long and the tannins are soft.

It doesn’t quite seem like a Gold Medal wine to me, but it’s a good Pinot Noir… particularly for the price.  But due to the fact that I found it slightly acidic, I’m not surprised that it stood out to the judges.  I have found that when tasting a lot of wines in one sitting, after you get a little palate-fatigue, wines that are more acidic tend to pop and stand out from the other wines.

Regardless of whether it’s just a good wine or a gold medal wine, it’s only 10 bucks.  So I’d say, if you’re a fan of Pinot Noir give this one a shot to see what you think for yourself.

Wine: Harlow Ridge
Variety: Pinot Noir
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol: 12.5%
Rating: 85
Price: $10.00

Find Harlow Ridge Pinot Noir with Snooth

Tim Lemke Tim is the founder and chief reviewer at Cheap Wine Ratings since 2007.

LEAVE YOUR COMMENT

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *