I'm always on the lookout for good value, high quality Pinots and a few months ago I was introduced to Garnet's lineup. It was during a winetwits meetup, and they were pouring the Monterey one. Soon after, I picked up a few bottles of the Carneros as well, and most recently I got my hands on the Rogers Creek single vineyard one they just released. So I thought I might compile a brief review of all three.2010 Rogers Creek Pinot NoirThe Rogers Creek is a special Pinot. It's sourced from a single vineyard in Sonoma - Rogers Creek, and brings a tightly woven mashup of flavors - black cherry and plum mix with dark earth/dust and small hints of oak. This is the same vineyard that other respected Pinot producers like Sojourn and Kosta-Browne source grapes from for a few of their productions. While this wine could age another year or two easily, and will no doubt become better with a little time, it's perfectly drinkable now. It's a fairly balanced wine overall, with just over 14% alcohol and not much heat on the first pour.But it is a big bodied, full flavor Pinot for sure, with a very smooth, round, and expansive flavor on the palate with a medium finish, and medium acidity It also lacked the barnyard/hay smell that I associate with a lot of PN, and don't like. For this Pinot to stand up to others that are almost twice as expensive is a testament to its strength and finesse. It's also much smaller production than their others, at only 436 cases I think. The cost: $29.992010 Carneros Pinot NoirThe Carneros Pinot opens with big ripe strawberry and raspberry, with a bit of that distinct "funk" on the nose, and mild earthy/dust/chalk tones and something that reminds me of apple rinds. The flavor is balanced throughout the palate, and lingers for a relatively long time afterwards. It's not as big on the ripe flavors as it's RC cousin, but I feel it might be more balanced overall. A very food-friendly wine for sure. This is one that Huffington Post wine reviewer Richard Jennings gave 92 points on Cellartracker (http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1182073).For the money, Garnet's wines are hard to beat. It's rare to find a good Sonoma Pinot for less than $20, let alone one that you might qualify as "great". It's big on flavor and finish, but doesn't have 15%+ alcohol that some Pinots (central coast especially) have, which I think tends to stray from the way this wine should be made. Alison Crowe, the winemaker, has done a great job with this one. Have I had better Pinots? Yes, I have - but not for the price.2010 Monterey Pinot NoirWell, for $14.99, you can't go wrong, but you could go a lot more right if you spend the extra $5 for the Carneros one. This Pinot is pretty average, and doesn't have the balance that the Carneros one has or the powerful flavor of the Rogers Creek. It's a bit more fruit-forward, with less acidity, and not as complex flavors.
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