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McKinlay Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 2008
$21 / bottle It’s only February, but we already have a contender for the best low-price wine from the great 2008 vintage: The McKinlay Pinot Noir Willamette Valley
Each year, iconoclast and body surfer Matt Kinne makes a couple of higher-priced cuvees (if under $40 is considered high these days . . . ) and then makes a bunch of his Willamette Valley cuvee with the rest of the juice. That bottling is one of the best deals of any vintage, hands down. This year’s may be the best ever, and it is tragically underpriced.
The wine has that fresh, jazzy ’08 style, with lots of fruit and a vibrant character. It’s balanced impeccably, and shows both intensity and length. It’s also a bit tight – in fact, it stayed fresh-tasting over a four-day period on my kitchen counter! Each day revealed more layers of flavor. All the while, it stayed intense and balanced.
That’s the key to a good wine, folks. Intensity, complexity and balance when a wine is young results in an older with with the same qualities. This bottle will take a few months to open up a bit, and with then continue to improve for years.
I will be stocking my kitchen with cases of this wine. I suggest you do the same.
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