Variety: 100% Pinot Noir
Region: Oregon, USA
Cost: ~$20
Winemaker’s Notes: Vivid red with a deep purple core, the nose is generous with ripe cherry, black raspberry, acacia flowers, and a hint of forest floor. Immediately, the palate is treated to a textural melange of sweet cherry, pomegranate, rose petal, and sappy strawberry. A lively mid-palate reveals a mineral twist and exotic spice notes juxtaposed with fine tannins and superb clarity on the finish.
My Review: So there was a time when I drank a staggering amount of Pinot Noir. It provided everything I wanted in a wine – something that was pleasing and enjoyable by itself, but that paired well with a range of foods. I’ve broadened my horizons over the years, and while I still enjoy a bottle of Pinot Noir, I recently realized that I don’t drink as much of it as I used to.
The Locations Wine OR4 reminded me that I might need to circle back to old habits.
I have, by and large, enjoyed the selection of Locations Wine that I’ve tried. They present a fair representation of the region they’re claiming, and if they get to break some of the rules of those Old World regions, well I like a good rebel.
The OR4, however, may actually be my favorite of the bunch so far. Not because it deviates from the traditions of the grape and region it claims, but because it embraces them wholeheartedly, reveling in everything that the grape has to offer.
In the glass the wine was a bright red streaked through with purple. On the nose I picked up ripe cherry that quickly gave way to earthier tones with a hint of cedar. In the mouth the wine showed floral notes of rose petals mixed with a earthy, meaty note that called to mind nice, quality smoked bacon.
Paired with a flank steak that I topped with a chimichurri sauce, the wine was amazing, with bright cherry notes jumping out of the wine to balance the steak, and then fading away to give way to that earthy, meaty note that poked at the part of my brain that wanted to revel in a meal resplendent in meat.
I know that to many Pinot Noir is a refined, elegant grape; delicate in how it grows and in need of nurturing to produce fine wines. The OR4 shows all the nuance of those wines, but with a strong, almost primal backing that I found amazing. This is not a pinot for sipping and discussing the finer points of international finance – this is a wine for enjoying with meat dripping in its own juices, a wine for a simpler time.
Editor’s Note: I received this wine as a free sample for review
