Wine of the week: Castle Rock Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 2015
by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On
The Castle Rock Pinot Noir is affordable, well-made, enjoyable and even tastes like pinot noir
After years of complaining that it was almost impossible to find affordable pinot noir that tasted like pinot noir. we’ve already had two as wines of the week this year. The second, the Castle Rock pinot noir, may be the more interesting.
That’s because the Castle Rock pinot noir ($12, sample, 13.5%) is a negociant-style wine, where the people making it don’t necessarily own any grapes or winemaking facilities. It’s a common practice in France, but much less common in the U.S. In the case of the Castle Rock pinot noir, it works well.
Look for the telltale red and black berry fruit in this red wine from Oregon, a little freshness, a competent finish with a touch of length, and what tastes like nicely done fake oak. Also, there are surprisingly professional tannins that hide in the background and don’t get in the way of the wine; in fact, they even sort of complement it. In much cheap pinot noir, the tannins are either missing completely or are so harsh that they overpower the wine.
Is this classic Oregon pinot noir? No, but it’s not supposed to be. It’s supposed to be affordable pinot noir that tastes like pinot noir, which is as rare as it is welcome. Enjoy this on any weeknight, and be glad you didn’t pay $20 for a pinot that you didn’t like nearly as much.
I agree that this is the best of the Castle Rock pinots. I have been unable to find it in Texas as I was told the distribution stopped at Colorado. Did you find it in Texas?
It was a sample, but Castle Rock has a Texas distributor. So the wine should be available in the state.
I’ll keep checking & I hope you are right. Who is the distributor? I’ll check with them.
Thanks