What makes a humble bottle of Pinot Noir stand out from the crowd? Unlock the secrets behind Trader Joe’s Cotillion Pinot Noir, a $9.99 treasure, as we take you on a journey through its 2022 vintage story. This episode revisits a cherished selection from our past reviews, tracing its origins across the iconic AVAs of Monterey, Santa Barbara, and Sonoma Counties. Guided by the talented winemaker Allison Crow and crafted under the stewardship of Plata Wine Partners, this wine offers a delightful blend of exotic flavors—sour cherries, plums, and herbs—without the overpowering density. We explore how this whimsical wine embodies the essence of a classic California Pinot Noir, thanks to its roots in the same acclaimed regions that birthed the original Miomi.
Join us as we savor each sip and unravel the enchanting tale behind Cotillion’s playful label featuring a fantastical dance of animals donning each other’s hats. Discover how the combination of French and American oak contributes to the wine’s unique profile, striking a perfect balance that appeals to both seasoned collectors and curious newcomers. Whether you’re drawn in by the wine’s intriguing flavors or the charming art on its label, this episode promises a delightful experience for all wine enthusiasts seeking a standout choice that doesn’t break the bank.
Check us out at http://www.cheapwinefinder.com
or email us at [email protected]
Speaker 1
0:02
Hey
,
there
it's
Domain
Dave
cheapwinefightercom
.
Another
wine
review
,
a
cheapie
.
This
one's
$9.99
at
Trader
Joe's
.
It's
a
wine
that
we
first
reviewed
the
2013
vintage
,
which
was
probably
in
2015
,
2016
.
And
this
is
a
2022
vintage
.
It's
the
Cotillion
Pinot
Noir
.
It's
from
California
,
it's
actually
from
Montere
Noir
.
It's
from
California
,
it's
actually
from
Monterey
County
,
it's
from
Santa
Barbara
County
and
it's
from
Sonoma
County
,
which
is
the
same
AVAs
that
were
used
in
the
original
Miomi
.
I
don't
think
Miomi's
still
doing
that
,
but
this
one
is
Like
I
said
,
it's
on
$9.99
.
Speaker 1
0:40
It's
made
for
Trader
Joe's
by
Plata
Wine
Partners
.
They
own
60
vineyards
or
control
60
vineyards
and
have
like
18,000
acres
,
and
they
have
a
lot
of
acres
in
Monterey
,
sonoma
and
Santa
Barbara
,
so
they
have
the
grapes
for
this
wine
and
it's
a
cool
climate
.
Allison
Crow
is
the
winemaker
.
She's
been
around
for
a
long
time
,
made
a
lot
of
good
wines
.
I
have
links
to
all
this
on
the
cheapwinefindercom
website
in
the
review
.
So
if
you
want
to
find
out
more
about
these
people
,
this
is
one
of
the
few
Trader
Joe's
exclusive
wines
that
actually
has
tasting
notes
for
it
Not
great
detail
,
because
it's
kind
of
hard
when
you
I
mean
that's
I'm
not
even
sure
how
many
hundreds
of
miles
from
Santa
Barbara
to
Sonoma
it
is
.
But
to
get
into
detail
about
the
vineyards
and
stuff
it's
going
to
be
difficult
.
I'm
going
to
take
a
sip
and
this
is
actually
a
really
good
classic
California
Pinot
Noir
.
Speaker 1
1:55
I
mentioned
Miomi
earlier
because
that's
kind
of
like
the
modern
style
of
full-bodied
Pinot
Noir
,
which
is
kind
of
weird
for
Pinot
Noir
,
if
you
ask
me
.
I
mean
,
I
know
a
lot
of
people
love
it
and
that's
fine
.
You
know
people
should
drink
what
they
like
.
But
these
light
to
medium-bodied
kind
of
funky
wines
with
these
kind
of
cool
flavors
,
those
exotic
spices
and
sour
cherries
and
plums
and
herbs
,
that's
what
this
is
.
It's
a
classic
California
Pinot
Noir
.
I
mean
you
can
see
through
it
,
you
can
read
anything
through
it
.
It's
that
light
of
color
,
it's
garnet
red
,
it's
got
a
great
nose
Again
,
all
those
weird
scents
,
because
it's
kind
of
light-bodied
.
It
doesn't
have
a
lot
of
the
things
that
overpower
you
with
fuller
,
bigger
red
wines
.
Speaker 1
2:55
What
first
made
me
buy
this
wine
is
the
label
.
You
can
buy
a
wine
by
the
label
,
I
mean
,
especially
when
it's
10
bucks
or
so
.
This
has
the
cotillion
is
a
dance
and
there's
animals
dancing
and
a
tiger
with
a
lamb's
head
hat
is
dancing
with
a
lamb
with
a
wolf's
hat
,
and
then
there
is
a
fox
with
a
rooster
hat
is
dancing
with
a
chicken
with
a
fox
hat
.
I
have
no
clue
.
There's
all
these
weird
animals
with
different
heads
on
them
.
It
looks
like
,
yeah
,
there's
a
cat
talking
to
a
bird
,
but
the
bird
has
a
cat
hat
and
the
cat
has
a
bird
hat
.
It's
just
like
I
had
to
buy
it
.
It
was
like
one
of
those
things
.
And
after
the
13
vintage
,
this
is
uh
,
this
is
nine
vintages
later
.
I'm
still
picking
it
up
and
it
is
a
solid
,
well-made
.
Speaker 1
4:02
Santa
Barbara
,
monterey
and
Sonoma
are
some
great
places
.
They
said
it's
all
coastal
vineyards
,
so
that
means
Russian
River
on
in
and
maybe
Sonoma
coast
,
but
Russian
River
on
in
and
maybe
Sonoma
coast
,
but
Russian
River
still
coastal
.
Most
of
Sonoma
Pinot
Noir
places
are
Monterey
Pinot
Noir
places
are
all
coastal
and
Santa
Barbara
is
way
too
hot
unless
you're
coastal
to
do
anything
.
So
yeah
,
this
is
a
coastal
wine
.
They
used
both
French
and
American
oak
.
They
didn't't
say
they
used
barrels
,
but
they
used
both
the
French
and
American
oak
and
did
a
couple
different
toasts
.
They
flame
the
inside
of
the
staves
and
you
don't
need
a
barrel
to
do
that
,
but
you
can
do
it
without
being
a
barrel
.
There
might
have
been
a
barrel
,
barrel
this
,
but
there
might
have
been
a
barrel
.
And
that
toasting
light
toast
,
medium
toast
brings
out
the
oak
flavors
because
,
uh
,
like
the
,
the
oak
flavors
are
just
on
a
very
like
1
,
16th
of
an
inch
of
the
oak
or
something
teeny
tiny
like
that
,
where
the
flavor
comes
in
.
The
darker
the
toast
,
different
flavors
,
lighter
the
toast
,
different
flavors
.
Speaker 1
5:10
So
they
put
some
effort
into
this
wine
because
they
had
to
.
Well
,
they
owned
the
vineyards
,
or
seemed
to
have
owned
the
vineyards
.
Uh
,
platta
um
bladder
wine
partners
used
a
company
called
ashford
court
,
which
is
probably
a
division
of
theirs
or
a
name
.
They
have
to
make
the
wine
or
to
say
they
uh
,
I
don't
think
they
said
they
made
it
,
probably
bottled
by
,
right
,
let
me
double
check
that
and
it
is
,
yeah
,
vinted
and
bottled
by
,
which
means
nothing
because
they
bottled
it
.
Speaker 1
5:38
So
what
you
got
here
is
a
ten
dollar
pinot
noir
,
and
there
is
pinot
noir
has
kind
of
like
two
levels
of
it
and
there's
the
expensive
pinot
noir
,
which
is
really
great
.
I
love
it
,
but
it's
expensive
and
lately
not
lately
,
last
10
years
or
so
the
value
price
Pinot
Noir
has
gotten
really
good
.
I
mean
it's
got
in
their
own
right
.
It
might
not
be
exactly
the
same
as
a
$70
Pinot
Noir
,
but
it
has
a
lot
of
reasons
to
drink
it
,
where
,
where
it
used
to
be
just
cherry
juice
,
kind
of
alcoholic
cherry
juice
,
which
you
know
sounds
good
to
me
,
but
now
it's
its
own
thing
.
It's
maybe
more
closer
to
Beaujolais
,
you
know
,
in
terms
of
how
they
made
it
,
though
I
don't
know
how
they
made
this
one
,
but
that's
what
I
think
is
going
on
there
.
Speaker 1
6:27
So
this
is
the
Cotillion
Pinot
Noir
2022
.
It's
a
Trader
Joe's
exclusive
.
If
it's
$9.99
,
I'm
going
to
take
another
sip
.
You
want
a
very
drinkable
fun
to
drink
.
It's
got
all
the
classic
California
trappings
to
it
the
funky
nose
,
the
see-through
color
,
the
crazy
spices
,
there's
licorice
in
there
,
all
these
different
things
.
Yep
,
it's
good
,
it's
worth
buying
,
it's
worth
drinking
.
So
that's
it
for
me
.
What
else
do
you
want
?
Adios
,
keep
it
cheap
.
Domain
Dave
CheapWineFightercom
.
I'll
be
talking
to
you
in
a
couple
days
.
