Delicate Vs. Wimpy
A fine line separates wines with finesse from those that are just too light
Posted: Sep 6, 2011 11:47am ET
Tasting last week through a couple dozen Oregon Pinot Noirs, mostly 2009s—and therefore quite fragile in structure—I found myself musing over why some of them made my eyes light up while others just seemed weak.
Some of my friends, those who prefer wines with transparency and nuanced qualities, would probably have loved all of them. This is the kind of wine, they might say, that's so hard to find in this era of big flavor (and often big alcohols). Others, the folks who like bigger, bolder wines, might have dismissed them all as wimpy.
Me, I am a wine omnivore. I like big, bounding Syrahs and sleek, racy Pinot Noirs. Even within the Pinot Noir category, I can appreciate the richness and plushness of some of the bigger wines even though my ideal for the grape is a wine with more transparency than density.
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