Carmenet Pinot Noir

Carmenet wines are part of the Bronco Wine Company portfolio, one of the biggest producers of bargain-priced wines in the US.  The appellation noted on the bottle is California, meaning the grapes could have come from any part of the state, or multiple parts.  I don’t have a whole lot of story to tell about this wine other than that, so let’s get right to the tasting notes.

This wine has a soft nose, with plum, cola and oak aromas.  And when I say oak aromas, I don’t mean vanilla, coconut, nutmeg or other spicy nuances that oak can impart on a wine.  In this case, I mean it smells like a wet board.  An oak board, to be specific.

The oak is also what stands out on the palate.  I have an acronym I sometimes use in my tasting notes, TMO: Too much oak.  It’s not undrinkable, but it’s very heavily oaked.  There is also plenty of ripe fruit on the palate, offering cherry and plum flavors.  It’s very dry on the finish, where again the oak stands out.  There are some enjoyable flavors in the wine, but it’s just thrown out of balance by… you guessed it, too much oak.

Wine: Carmenet
Variety: Pinot Noir
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 12.5%
Rating: 80
Price:  $12.00

Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.