A Wine Lover's Weekly Guide Tof $10 Wines - A South Australia Pinot Noir

Over the years we have reviewed many Pinot Noir wines, although most of them were not in the $10 range. We have recently reviewed many Australian wines, although most of them were not in the $10 range. And now they come together. Dr. Henry John Lindeman became a member of the (British) Royal College of Surgeons at the age of 23. A few years later he was producing wine in New South Wales, Australia where he planted his first vines in 1840. Lindemans is now a huge winery, their bin series composed of five white and four red varietals sells a perhaps unbelievable one million bottles a week. Just a final thought, Dr. Lindeman was an early partisan of the health benefits of wine, surely in moderation.

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed Lindemans Bin 99 Pinot Noir 2008 12.5% alcohol about $10

Let's start by quoting the marketing materials. Tasting Note : Garnet color; berry/cherry fruit with earthy/mushroom notes; light- bodied with berry fruit Garnet color; berry/cherry fruit with earthy/mushroom notes; light- bodied with berry fruit and vanilla on the palate; delicate spicy notes in the finish. Serving Suggestion : Chicken; Vegetarian dishes; Duck; Mushroom risotto. And now for my review.

At the first sips the earth taste so often associated with Pinot Noir hit me. This wine was rather sweet and had almost no tannins. My first meal was slow cooked beef ribs with potatoes. This Pinot Noir was round with pleasant acidity and dark cherries; its earth taste remained. The wine wasn't fazed or even changed by a fair amount of Louisiana red pepper sauce. When the Pinot Noir faced the side dish of a not particularly spicy Turkish salad based on sweet pimentos, tomato paste, and hot peppers, it had good length and went well with the tomatoes.

The next meal was a pan-fried veal chop cooked with brown mushrooms and garlic. The accompaniments were microwaved red potatoes and an oriental tomato, pimento, and hot pepper salad which wasn't very spicy. The veal brought out plums in the wine that proved to be round and balanced with light tannins. The mushroom, garlic combination intensified this Pinot Noir's acidity. Neither the salad nor the potatoes were good for the wine. This wasn't a real problem but they did reduce the wine's flavor.

My final meal was a broiled Atlantic salmon steak marinated in soy sauce and sliced garlic. The wine showed oak, earth, and plums. Rather surprisingly it presented a more forceful taste with the potato patties. When paired with a zesty guacamole, this Pinot Noir was thinner but remained tasty.

Before the cheeses I tried this wine with Matjes herring. The wine was somewhat sweet and nicely acidic. The taste of earth came through. Then I went to whipped cream cheese. I noted black cherries but the wine was thinner. The second cheese was a Wisconsin Swiss. The wine rebounded; its tannins were absent but didn't seem to be missing.

Final verdict. I would buy this wine again. When it can produce wines like these don't be surprised that Australia does so well in the international wine market. One of Lindemans' sister companies is Penfolds, the producer of Australia's top of the line red wine Penfold's Grange. Maybe one day if I save enough money on $10 wines…