VINTJS Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2012

vintjswillamettepinot2012The 2012 VINTJS Willamette Valley Pinot Noir is an $8.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive label sourced from vineyards in Oregon. A non Trader Joe’s Willamette Valley Pinot Noir that sells for twice the price is considered to be ridiculously low priced, but TJ’s seems to make a habit of under 10 buck Oregon Pinot. The 2012 vintage was great up and down the West Coast and yields were large enough so companies such as Trader Joe’s could find some value in the excess grape market. The 2010 and 2011 vintages were spotty with low grape yields and these sort of wines were fairly scarce on Trader Joe’s shelves. In the past, Wines by Joe produced the Oregon Pinot for VINTJS, but the 2012 shows the wine was vinted and bottled by ABJ Wines from Geyserville, CA., which does not tell you much.  The alcohol content is 13.5%

The color is cherry red with plum highlights. The nose is herbal, cigar tobacco, spearmint gum, a little vanilla and black cherry. This is a medium to light bodied Pinot Noir and slightly watery on the palate. It tastes of subtle cherry, savory mushroom and a light sprinkling of herbs. The mid palate adds some raspberry and soft wash of curry spices. The knock on most valued priced Pinot Noir is that they are too full bodied and not nuanced enough, well the VINTJS is definitely not too full bodied and almost too thin to support all the flavors and textures. 

The VINTJS Willamette Valley Pinot Noir is a pretty decent, if a little thin, $8.99 Pinot Noir. If it had just a bit more body it would really be something. It is not a top notch Oregon Pinot, but it is also not priced like one. The VINTJS is not a complete failure, it has some appealing characteristics and would drink well on a tuesday night. But if you were looking for a Willamette Valley Pinot Noir that rocks your world and is insanely bargain priced, keep looking. 

See also  Erath Oregon Pinot Noir 2016
About the Author
Don’t tell anyone, but there is absolutely no correlation between the cost of wine and the quality of wine.

2 comments on “VINTJS Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2012

  1. Ravi says:

    How confident are you that this really is a Willamette Valley Pinot Noir? I note that the vinter is in California, and also produces a Napa Valley Pinot Noir.

  2. Domaine Dave says:

    They have very strict labeling laws when it comes to the grape, if it says Pinot Noir on the label, then 75% of the grapes used must be Pinot and the growing region, if it says Willamette Valley, then 85% of the grapes must come from Willamette. It is not unusual for wine from Chile, Argentina or Australia to be shipped to California in large vats, then bottled and maybe aged in California, it saves a significant amount of money on shipping. While you normally see Willamette wines bottled in Oregon, Trader Joe’s probably saw some cost savings by shipping it south. That the producer they used to finish the Pinot is also a Pinot producer in their own right, is a good thing.

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