Name: the Little Penguin
Type: Red
Grape: Pinot Noir
Origin: Australia
Year: 2004
Producer: the Little Penguin Wines
Price: $7.49

It’s very tough to make a good Pinot Noir for less than $20 a bottle. It’s a small batch endeavor and a delicate grape so there isn’t enough supply to meet the demand, thus higher prices for anything decent. So I always taste a Pinot Noir with lower-than-average expectations. This one looks like a Pinot Noir, light red in color and it smells of blackberry, strawberry and tobacco. Again with the tobacco, the Little Penguin Wines must process this on the same equipment as the Merlot, which is dominated by tobacco flavors. With the Pinot, you get a bit of tobacco flavor up front but then it turns rather non-descript. The finish is rather lengthy and quite acidic. Overall, it’s a tasty wine. It’s just not a great example of Pinot Noir, as expected.

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