How Much Would You Pay for a Good Pinot Noir?
Jeff thinks this barrel has a great QPRA friend of ours has a great metric, quality price ratio (QPR), meaning the price of the bottle is worth the quality of wine. On a recent trip to the Dundee Hills region of Oregon’s Willamette Valley, we tasted several enjoyable pinot noirs, but there were few we thought met the QPR threshold for purchase.
When tasting Pinot Noir, it has to be something pretty amazing for us to consider paying north of $40 for a bottle. Using that as a benchmark, here’s a summary of wines we liked, and where they fell on our QPR scale.
Low QPR ~ liked, but a little too “proud”
Archery Summit – ’09 Renegade Ridge Estate ($85)
Deep color, darker red fruits with a dirt earth finish. We could taste the lamb. Little tart at start, would benefit from aging 3-5 years.
Erath – ’09 Knight’s Gambit Vineyard ($50)
Full berry nose, more complex pinot with tart fruit tastes and dirt finish. Unique, bolder, pinot noir
Witness Tree – ’08 Claim 51 ($48)
Darker in color, smells of bright red fruits, blueberries with a little smoke, spicy finish with hints of cinnamon. Can taste the new oak. Would also benefit from 3-5 years of aging.
Great QPR ~ priced right for the taste
St. Innocent – ’10 Temperance Hill Vineyard ($32)
Smokey nose, dark cherry fruit and touch of spice, with an earthy, well balanced finish. Will pair well with grilled meats.
Sweet red berry aromas, with earthy raspberry and blueberry flavors. Bright acidity and firm tannins, this wine will age well.
Check out other blog posts on Pinot’s we’ve enjoyed with great QPRs:
We want to know ~ How much would you pay for a Pinot Noir?