Matthieu de Brully Bourgogne Pinot Noir, 2005

With the Los Carneros Pinot Noir fresh in my memory, I wanted to try a red Burgundy of similar price from a very good vintage. This is the last of a six-bottle lot of Matthieu de Brully Bourgogne Pinot Noir, and it seems to be at a good stage of maturity.

Medium light color with some amber forming. Dark cherries and ginger. Warmer and broader than the Los Carneros. Not as intense or focused but decent depth. On the palate, ginger and Pinot earthiness dominate. Generally, not as exciting as the New World offering but perhaps more subtle and reserved. It's a very enjoyable dinner wine.

As you've probably noted, my bias is strongly toward European wines, but at the $10 to $15 level that I've been sampling, I would have to give the nod to Pinots from Anderson Valley, Sonoma Coast and Carneros.