Ropiteau Pinot Noir 2009 – Southern France

Ropiteau Pinot Noir 2009 – Southern France/Burgundy

Description from Total Wine & More

“This super value is proof positive. Bright cherry and berry fruit is complemented by earth tones and a smooth soft finish. Enjoy with salmon, chicken, or pork.”

Okay, it’s time for another confession from me….I am a known Merlot addict! You see I tend to love red wines and in particular Merlot but this addiction stems more from inexperience rather than some finely tuned ‘knowledge’. Some time ago I stumbled upon a bottle of Merlot that was nice and ever since then I’ve identified myself as a ‘Merlot person’.

So in an attempt to ‘break out’ of my Merlot addiction I’ve been blindly trying different red wines. This week’s pick was a French wine from the Burgundy region. Why did I pick it? Because it was inexpensive ($8.99) and in the Total Wine & More ‘best sellers’ section.

So now without further ado I will attempt to give you my review of this wine. When I first opened and poured a glass of this Pinot Noir and took a sip I almost poured it down the drain. Why? Because at first taste it was, for lack of a better words, ROUGH and HARSH.

However after letting the wine breathe for a few minutes the character totally changed. It became a quite drinkable wine. It’s a very earthy wine with oaky overtones.

So here’s my overall rating of this wine:

Buzz factor: 9, after two glasses you’ll have a buzz on.

Overall likability: 6, after it was left to breathe a bit it was enjoyable but a little too rough for me. I prefer my wine a little smoother than this.