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Mark West California Pinot Noir 2005
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The Mark West Winery builds wines from the best California grape sources it can find, and
they put them together at accessible prices; this Pinot Noir can be had for $10-$12. The
appellation is “California,” and it appears that they have combed through the entire state for
these grapes: 66% Central Coast (itself a large region), 4% Napa, 3% Mendocino and 5%
from unnamed areas. Regulations allow the producer to call a wine by its varietal name if it
has at least 75% of that grape; this is 85% Pinot Noir, 13% Syrah, and 2% Chardonnay. You
can find these grape-type and sourcing details on the winery spec sheet, but don't look for
them on the labels, front or back.
I would rather pay more and get more, but that said, you get a great deal for your modest
outlay. On the nose the purple-ruby wine gives up candied cherry and sour cherry, cedar,
tobacco and smoke. The wine is lighter than I want in the mouth, dry, and fairly tart. On the
palate I get some raspberries and a range of cherry notes with more of the cedar and tobacco
notes that I feel should keep better to the background. Purely a matter of taste, but I think
there is too much oak showing in this wine (a phenomenon not unknown in California). The
finish is satisfying and tends to give a good cadence to the fruit notes and acidity.
Verdict: Value |
Tasting Archive
Wine economics subsumes both supply side and demand side, combined with a fickle fashion side, a dead-serious aesthetic side, and the vagaries of human emotion. Just factor in Mother Nature and the uncertainty of world events, and there's nothing to it. ![]() James Beard Award Nominee Elliot Essman
http://www.stylegourmet.com/wine/tas00052.htm
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