Another smooth and easy Pinot at the $18 price point.  I’m 3 weeks behind in posting this so no other comments.  I do remember thinking that I’d buy it again.  BevMo probably has it for less than the Korean market where I found it.

paid: $18

scored: 89

The Beauregard Pinot was so smashing we picked up an interest in the grape… only to learn that it doesn’t really hang out at the $12 price point.  So…. you go up a few bucks, and land at here.  Warm and sugary on the nose, lightly bitter at first taste, and just when I thought I’d found something astounding, I swallowed and got jabbed by the finish.  It’s sharp!  I don’t really understand.  Its completely incongruous.  My fiancee had a similar expereince, and just to double check I pumped half the bottle and tasted it again the next day.  Same finish.  Sigh.  Its still very good, though, and worth your while.

paid: $16

scored: 88

We finally found Bonny Doon.  The tasting room moved to a hip, modern spot in downtown Santa Cruz.  We were sufficiently taken by the whole ambiance that we joined their wine club.  We’ll see how that works out.  They gave us our first “shipment” on the spot, 2 bottles of their Cigare Volante unfiltered “red wine of the earth”.  I’m not sure who let the hippies categorize this wine ;p.  Anyway it is a very fine specimen, a blend typical perhaps of Chateauneuf-du-pape, with 50% Grenache, 24% Mourvedre, 22% Syrah and a smattering of Carignane and Cinsault.  Smoooooooooooooth.  I wonder if it would age well. For the record, most of Bonny Doon’s vineyards are farther south in Monterrey, although its winery is in the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation.  File under…?

paid: $26 (club price)

scored: 90

The Irony lives up to its name, in a rather literal sense.  Decent fruit and very light, but unfortunately, the finish hits you like a stone-age farm tool.

paid: $10

scored: 84