2005 Talus Collection Pinot Noir, California – a wine for pretzels?

This bottle of 2005 Talus Collection Pinot Noir, which retails between $5-$8, is produced by Canandaigua Wine Company of Constellation Wines U.S., which is part of Constellation Wines, an operating division of Constellation Brands, Inc.

You may not have heard of Constellation Brands, but this company makes commonly known wines brands including Big House Red, Alice White, Covey Run, Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi. These wines can usually be found in neighborhood wine shops or dive bars.

It is a random Friday night and we just want to open a bottle of wine as sipping beverage, so the cork of this bottle is popped. We don’t have any high expectation for this generic pinot, but I am quite surprised to say that it actually contains all the basic components of a Pinot Noir. Also, it is actually a quaffable wine, no worse than any 2 (or 3) buck chuck that you can pick up from Trader Joe.

From the producer's fact sheet, 2005 Talus Collection Pinot Noir consists of 75.7% PinotNoir, 6.6% Petite Syrah, 4.9% Syrah, 4.2% Valdigue, 3.3% Sangiovese, and 5.3% miscellaneous blenders. ABV: 13 %

Tasting notes:

Color: Light ruby.

Nose: Light oak, bing cherry (although a bit artificial) and very faint notes of baking spice.

Palate: Very soft. Mid palate is quite hollow delivering bing cherry and light oak flavors. Decent peppery kick at the end but alcohol is also very high toned. Tannins virtually does not exist.

Body: Light and watery.

Finish: Short. Spicy, oaky and slightly bitter.

Comments:
I rarely post tasting notes for under-par wines, but this is definitely one of them. As varietally correct as this wine can be, this wine is one dimensional. The bottom line is that it just has a 'cheap feel' written all over it.

According to Talus Wine’s website, this wine is served on all domestic flights of Delta Airlines. Quote from Talus: “Talus Collection Pinot Noir is assertive yet smooth, with a mixture of black and red fruits and a subtle touch of earthiness. (It's a must with pretzels.)”

So there you have it: There is indeed a Pinot Noir that pair well with pretzels!