Erath 2008 Pinot Noir

The Winery: Erath
The Wine:  2008 Pinot Noir
The Price:  $14.69 at Safeway

I last reviewed Erath's wine just over two years ago, it was their 2006 Pinot Noir, and at the time I was not overly impressed.  2008 is supposed to be a very good year for Oregon Pinot Noirs, so I thought I should revisit Erath.

Erath is still sealing their bottles with screw caps.  The wine was decanted an hour before tasting.

The wine is is fairly light red in color.  It has aromas of cherry, plum and cassis. 

Like the 2006, the 2008 Pinot Noir is light and thin.  It has flavors of cherry, blackberry and cranberry.  It also has a bit more alcohol flavor to it than I would expect. It has more robust flavor than I recall from the 2006, but it is still lacking the rich, velvety flavors of a great Oregon Pinot Noir.  If you are looking for a great Pinot Noir, this isn't it.  But it is a drinkable wine at a decent price.  At the price, I half-heartedly recommend this wine.  But I'd rather spend more money and get a great Oregon Pinot Noir.      

Michael-David 2008 7 Deadly Zins

The Winery:  Michael-David
The Wine:  2008 7 Deadly Zins
The Price:  $11.99 at Safeway

I've been wanting to review this wine for quite some time, partly because I can sometimes be a sucker for a clever name, but more because I really enjoy Michael-David's Petite Petit.  7 Deadly Zins is so named because the wine is a blend of grapes from seven different Lodi (California) vineyards.

The bottle was stopped with a natural cork and decanted slightly more than an hour before tasting.

The wine very dark purple.  It has aromas of plum, blackberry and blueberry.  It has a bit of a bite to it, owing to it's 15% alcohol content.  Once you get past that, it's a very delicious wine.  It has very robust flavors of cherry, cinnamon, blueberry and raspberry, wrapped in a blanket of black pepper.  Despite the peppery bite, the wine has a very velvety smoothness to it.

This is another great wine from Michael-David!