I had this as a wine by the glass recently and I found it surprisingly good. I think it was a 2007, but not certain. It was restrained, balanced, not overextracted and decidely pinot noir. It had that bit of wet dog on the nose and a nice savory palate. No other varietal you would mistake it for unlike some of the more modernist efforts that are near syrah. This was old school in a good way. While this certainly wasn’t anything special, I really appreciate the style.
I think there regular pinot noir is a great wine for the $. Costco usually has it for around $15. I know they sold out to one of the large wine conglomerates in Washington (Chateau St Michelle?) but they have maintained their quality.
They were indeed bought by Chateau St Michelle. When this happened many of the locals thought it was a good thing, as the winery needed serious updating. I haven’t heard much from them recently.
20 years or so ago, this was my basic, house PN. It was really cheap and I thought correct. It was restrained and fairly light. I haven’t seen it in a long while. If it is only $15 and still as kinda decent as it used to be, I should find a bottle to try.
I think it’s a very decent wine for the price. Yes, still old-school style - that part hasn’t changed much, if at all, with the ownership shift.
Had a similar experience with the basic 2005 a few years ago. Ordering off a poor list, I gave it a flyer and was pleasantly surprised. Certainly nothing special and probably close to what Parker thinks of when he disparages “food wines.” Among wines that are widely distributed, a fine choice.
We were touring around the wv a few years ago and someone in out group wanted to stop there. It was terrible wine top to bottom and the winery experience was worse. After about 15 minutes of the worst hard selling/ product dumping on their reserve wine club, I resorted to being an utter dick and waited outside for the rest of my group.
I believe my assessment was alcoholic kool aid. You can get Cloudline or Willamette Valley Vineyards for the same price and they are remarkably better.
I like it for the price (like everyone else, evidently).
I “discovered” it when a guest brought a bottle and I stuck it away. Not expecting much, we tried it and since then I have bought several more bottles at Costco.
Agree with everyone that it’s a good wine for the price.
Lunched with some of the winemaking staff last year who chatted about upgrades. I was not impressed by a few previous encounters, but the 07 estate was better than expected and a step in the right direction. They’re on the IPNC 2010 list so looking forward to checking the progress.
RT
I’ve had their '07 Oregon Pinot and found it pretty dilute. But that probably makes sense in the context of the vintage and a massive appellation wine like that.
The '08 pinot gris is pretty tasty, especially when it can be had for around ten bucks. I’m optimistic that the CSM acquisition is going to pay off in wine quality, but it’s probably too soon to be able to get a read on the pinot noir.
Interestingly, for those who have never been there, the winery sits in the middle of a very large vineyard and Erath gets none of the fruit, which all goes to Argyle.
Picked up a couple bottles of the 07 last summer at TJ’s for about $17.
No notes, but found it just okay. Did it taste like Pinot? Sure it did, no problem.
Considering this price is in the neighborhood of the Evesham Wood WV I wasn’t inclined to anymore.
But it certainly would have a wider distribution I guess.
Tasted at the winery last year and thought the wines were utterly average and waaaay overpriced given the quality of their neighbors.
An old house but not one of my favs. In fact my one visit (probably around 2003) was a horrible experience. Maybe at the top of my list for a bad time at a winery. Rude un-knowledgeable staff and bad wines. One have avoided based on that. The fact that they would let that happen has kept me away from the wines. Maybe some things are back on the upswing but still not somewhere I would spend my $$ considering all the great wines and great bargains from the area.
Jason
What Jason said. Staff was utterly useless and out of touch by today’s standards. Luckily my wife napped in the car.
We have stopped by several times over the years, nostalgia for a pioneer I guess. Dick was doing a Dolcetto before he sold the winery which I thought was the best red they had, I understand these vines were pulled out. It’s hard to come back with so much competition in the neighborhood.
I like Erath’s basic pinot quite a bit. I think it’s one of the better $15 pinots out there. Tastes like pinot and at that price that’s pretty good. My mother-in-law likes it quite a bit so there’s usually a bottle open every Sunday when I cook for the family. I think the 2008 is very nice.
A good one that’s often on wine lists for a decent price and is reliable for a night on the road when you don’t need something special.
As some others have said, I enjoy Erath as a well-priced daily drinker, especially if having it with others that are not as into wine as I am.