2005 Castle Rock Pinot Noir – California Cuvee

I wasn’t expecting much out this wine, but for $10 it was decent, provided you had food to accompany it.

On the nose, it initially displayed a slight barnyardy (aka “brett”) smell, indicative of many Pinot Noir’s now a days, along with some astringency. The “brett” blew of quickly, but the astringency did not.

On the palate, it displayed a watered down taste, and only a slight hint of fruit, neither which lingered very long.

But as it turned out, the wine was a good accompaniment to the chicken masala we had for dinner. It must have been the slight peppery taste, which seemed to eliminate the astringent flavors, bringing out more of the fruit, and making the flavors of the wine and food linger somewhat longer.

So for $10 I’d say this was a good wine, and I would buy it again. Of course I would make sure I was having something slightly spicy to go along with it.