The 2008 Pinot Noir from Valle Perdido in Patagonia (Argentina!) is the second-best under-$15 Pinot Noir I’ve ever tried. It’s actually pretty good. But that doesn’t mean I would recommend you buy it.
I purchased this bottle from K&L Wines in Redwood City, CA, in May 2009 for $11.99. Attractive label, screw cap. K&L’s description follows:
“Patagonia might be best known for its frigid weather and the U.S. clothing company that has capitalized on this image of a blustery, rugged tundra, but that may all be about to change. Seems it’s just such a climate that helps Pinot Noir to develop its characteristic bouquet and complexity. This 2008 displays a fragrant, pure, and explosive nose, which expresses vivid summer red fruit and juicy cherry aromas. There are also some tropical fruit notes. The attack is fresh and full bodied, with a harmony between acidity and structure. Balanced and elegant, with a long persistent finish.”
After many disappointed tries, I’ve found that the best you can hope for in budget Pinot Noir is a “varietally correct” character. That is, does it recognizably taste like Pinot Noir? Most Pinots in this price range fall into the “generic light red” category. You hope only for Pinot taste – anything more than that is a bonus.
Valle Perdido’s 2008 Pinot goes one step better than just Pinot flavor. As K&L reports, this wine actually puts the fruit front and center in a bright, exciting way. From the aroma to the attack, this is definitely assertive Pinot fruit in all its exuberance. You could mistake it for nothing else.
But it’s all downhill from there. A thin texture, with none of the velvety mouthfeel characteristic of this grape, nor any of the underlying subtlety that makes you want to spend time with the wine. And despite K&L’s claim, there’s no finish at all – this wine vanishes about 80% of the way through your mouth. Just when it starts to get enjoyable, it’s gone.
Regardless, the Valle Perdido 2008 Pinot Noir is very good for the price. Might be the kind of thing you get by the case for your backyard BBQ if you feel obliged to serve Pinot. However, in this price range there are far better overall red wines (the most obvious being the almost embarrassing plethora of excellent Malbecs, also from Argentina; but also look at budget French wines from good vintages – no kidding, great values to be found). And if you want Pinot Noir, you’re going to have to move up to at least $20 to get something with a modicum of complexity.
“Recommended”, with strong reservations.
And the best under-$15 Pinot Noir to cross my lips? Bogle’s 2005 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir was worth more than 2x the price. Unfortunately the 2006 and 2007 vintages of that same wine weren’t nearly as good.
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