Parducci Small Lot Blend Mendocino County Pinot Noir, 2013

I remember my amazement when I walked into Harding's Grocery in Kalamazoo and saw this wine selling for $4.99 a bottle. It was a special offer, and I stocked up. Whether from the Anderson Valley or other nearby vineyards, Mendocino County has a well deserved reputation for producing fine Pinot Noir.

From the beginning, this wine has been very good, but the bottle tonight is spectacular. Fruity, floral, spicy scents waft up from the time the cork is pulled. Cherry, red spices--exciting to smell and even more exciting to taste. Great fruit, great acid, lovely to drink right now.

Later in the evening, I opened a bottle of 2011 Bourgogne Pinot Noir from Nicolas Potel. The Pinot traits were very similar. Contrary to stereotype, however, the Burgundy was slightly sweeter, fruitier and less intense.