Winey Tasting Notes: The Lure of the Sale! Matthew Fritz Pinot Noir

As I have stated before, I do not normally buy $25 bottles of wine. I leave that to other people to do for me. I know I should probably bite the bullet and up my price range, but there are so many good wines out there that are under $15, that I just don’t see why I should shell out the extra $10 (which is 3 bottles of Two Buck Chuck, here in Ohio anyway..). So I am always beyond thrilled when I see a higher end bottle of vino on special. That’s how it was with Matthew Fritz Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast, 14.3%, 2010). This wine was normally $24.99 .. but on special for $13.99. $11 off? I’ll take that thank you very much! (Note here: I write this blog from Ohio, and often the normal prices we’d pay here aren’t what you’d pay say, in California or another state…so if you’ve seen a wine for less, you are probably right – I just have to deal with what I have to deal with. Or take more vacations.)

The wine guru who found this wine for my favorite wine department is Vin Hunter. He “works” for Heinen’s, a locally owned gourmet grocery store here in Northeast Ohio with one of the best wine departments I’ve encountered in a grocery store…ever. He gets his hands on some really cool vino.
So taking Vin’s word for it, I grabbed a bottle and gave it a swirl.

The bouquet was strawberry and cherry with pepper and a hint of something astringent and sharp. Just a hint though…kind of gave it a little kick for my nose. The color was a darker cherry red. The first taste was of roses (no, I’ve never actually eaten roses, but I am pretty sure that’s what they’d taste like) and earth. Whoa! Cool pairing there – a fragrant taste offset with something down and dirty! Sort of the way I feel after gardening for the day – nice and happy and content, but covered in dirt, in a good way. It really made me start longing for my garden, which was quite the unfulfilled longing here in Northeast Ohio in January. The finish was tannic and not too long…just enough to go back in for another sip.

It was a good wine. Interesting blend of tastes. I don’t know if I’d go for roses and earth again, but I’m glad I got to taste it once. I’ll probably just head back to the garden the next time I want to mix those two elements. Was it a $25 bottle of wine? Well….maybe not in my little corner of the wine world.  But then again, I only paid $13.99 for it, didn’t I?

Cheers!

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