Not to take away from the original post, but with cheap Pinot being blended with Syrah, why don’t they use slightly earlier picked Zin?
Kevin +1
Victor -1 (however, I assume you were joking in which case +1)
On a side note why has rose champagne gotten priced so damn out of whack vs. brut?
While I have no first-hand knowledge of such a practice, I’ve heard mention of rumored CA Syrahs that contain as much as 85-90% Pinot Noir.
I have a friend in the Oltrepo (near Pavia), Olmo Antico, who makes a wonderful wine called “P. Nera” that is a Pinot Noir/Barbera blend. No US importer at the moment but if anyone is interested I can get you information.
This is one of the regions that doesn’t have the ‘purity’ stigma attached to Pinot Noir. There are actually a fair amount of Pinot/Barbera blends that pop out from here, as well as with some other local varieties. Not a household name, but not a rarity either. Seen a few from Langhe as well.
Just saw this on the mailing list today.
Copain 2010 P2
A blend of 50% Pinot Noir and 50% Pinot Gris from our estate Hein vineyard. The 2010 exhibits Bright high-toned floral and red fruits with talc like tannins and crisp fresh fruit finish. Like some of the red wines from the Loire Valley and other parts of Europe, enjoy this wine slightly chilled and enjoy it on the patio this summer.
I just remembered a blend from Oregon’s Sokol Blosser. They have a red table wine call Meditrina which the blend probably varies yearly which has Pinot, along with Syrah and Zinfandel, it looks like in the latest version…
In recent years, as Burgundy has become super expensive and people in the US has become enamored of Pinot Noir, it isn’t often blended, or rather, blends aren’t frequently offered in the US. However, in other countries, where it isn’t revered as more special than any other grape, it’s blended. As far as parentage - it’s distantly related to Syrah as far as I know. Assuming you’re trying to make the best wine you can, which means you treat it with the same care you do all your other grapes, the winemakers who blend it have interesting comments. Some of them think it dominates the blend and they don’t like to use too much of it for that reason. I’ve had it in blends from Italy, Austria, Hungary, Germany and parts of France, as well as a couple from the US. I’m sure it’s done elsewhere.
Oh good, I’ll be tasting there on Monday. Quick trip to Sunriver for mothers day and sneak down to dundee Monday for a couple of hours before flying home. I’ll write up a tasting story and post.
SWITZERLAND -
Pinot Noir is blended regularly with Gamay throughout the country - “Dole” in particular comes from the Valais district southeast of the lake and some pretty elegant Pinot/Gamay blends come under this appellation -
I could see it being fun in a field blend type wine that had a bunch of things in it, and I agree that the Domaine Alfred 50/50 Syrah-Pinot was an ok sub-$20 wine right off the bat. But we made the mistake of saving a couple for a few years, and the stuff became a mess.
I love other blends, but I think outside of champagne Pinot is best on its own.
Pinotage isn’t a blend, it’s a genetic mistake that people stuck in a bottle. ![[barf.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/8/8943c0ebb2703c20afa757f7ca84a099bb9de70d.gif "barf")
2003 Familia Schroeder Pinot Noir - Malbec Blend…Anyone have any experience with this wine? A friend has a bottle, but it’s his most expensive wine, so he won’t open it!($55?)
LOTS of blends involving Pinot in Italy. And with all kinds of (mostly lighter) grapes.
“Perennial” as they named it is also by far the worst wine they produce and I don’t recommend it unless its in the $10 bin. YMMV
That’s what I think some of the other American blends noted above are - the low-end easy drinker made up of odd lots and declassified barrels. The European blends mentioned sound more intriguing, inherently.
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N.V. Sokol Blosser Meditrina VII - USA, American (5/10/2011)
The Oregon Wine Trail with Dave and Cathy; 5/9/2011-5/10/2011 (Dundee, Oregon): 28% Oregon Pinot Noir, 50% syrah (east coast somewhere I think), and 22% California zinfandel so it’s truly and “American wine”. I heard about this wine and actually seeked it out as crazy as that sounds.
Beautiful eggplant color which is probably the zin and syrah working there magic. The palate is predominantly a combination of red licorice and black licorice and the good news is I love both. There is a touch of acidity and a slight drying finish which is probably a the rough edges of syrah tannins.
For $15 you can’t go wrong and it’d be a great wine for a blind tasting if you want to stump everyone.
Posted from CellarTracker
There are a few exceptions, but I feel that Pinot Noir blends usually turn out clumsy. In two-varietal blends, the Pinot nuances get overpowered by other varietal, and the other vatietal gets diluted by the Pinot. Maybe it’s one of those things where wineries try to come up with a wine so they can make more money than they would just bulking the wine out.
I think of you blend several varietals together it can work, like Flowers’ Perennial or Tandem’s Peleton.