Tuesday, October 25, 2011

LaRochelle, Pinot Noir 2008





This wine sucks, at almost any price.  It's my birthday and I went to the wine store and chose one that I've looked at many times, and have wanted a few times in the past, but passed it over for other wines, for whatever reason.  I was sucked in by the clean design lines of the label.

It is far too acidic and leaves a bad taste in the mouth.  It lacks the pleasurable complexities of other wines in the same price range and from the same region.

What really pisses me off is that it was very close to the price of the Frei Brothers wine posted earlier.

(brb)....


Ok, problem solved. I just went to the wine store and bought a bottle of the Frei Brothers Pinot, shown below.  Same image from earlier, different bottle.




Ok, I'm being cheap with the images, here is a different image, a more expensive one:




I love this wine.  It is delicious and open and has much to taste.  
It is a metaphor for what the wine drinking experience should be.


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3 comments:

  1. Sean:

    Sorry you didn't have a good experience with the La Rochelle Pinot. One of the nice things about the variety is how different it is from growing area to growing area. At La Rochelle we harvest fruit and make wine from about 8 different appellations from Anderson Valley down through the Santa Lucia Highlands.

    The Monterey release tends to be one of the darker fruited, more tannic releases, very different from our Sonoma Coast and Russian River Valley wines.

    If you send me your address, I will send you one those wines so you can taste the differences.

    I'm curious, your profile indicates you are in New York. We don't sell La Rochelle to wine shops in New York. How did you come about the wine?

    Steven Mirassou
    Proprietor, La Rochelle
    steven@stevenkent.com

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  2. Steve,

    Thank-you for your response.

    I wish that I had tried the Russian River or Sonoma Valley wines first. I tend to prefer those appellations, though my experience is far from exhaustive.

    I was perhaps being too indelicate with my assessment of your Monterey Pinot. Though I did find it to be far too acidic for my tastes.

    My wife and I live in Sonoma as well as the East Village of Manhattan. We are here having a baby and currently looking to buy a house. We have a few friends in the wine business here in California, also in Manhattan, and in Florida. I began this blog to further explore the variety of wines we can now enjoy in Northern California, wishing only to assess the wines we enjoy, or otherwise. I would be happy to reconsider, and write about the wines you send honestly.

    Our Sonoma mailing address is:

    Sean Cusick
    19201 Sonoma Hwy #206
    Sonoma, CA 95476

    I thank you in advance.


    Highest Regards,
    Sean

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    Replies
    1. Just want to get this out there. I got here by googling the Pinot Noir 2008 la Rochelle. My wife and I just opened a bottle and loved it. To each his own I guess...we are going to order a case. I am still trying to find out how to do that though, more googling!

      Peter Benson Alamo, CA

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