Wine I'm drinking - K1 by Geoff Hardy 2006 Pinot Noir

Bought this on the recommendation of the guy at De Vines in Inglewood today. It's an independent liquor store and can choose what it likes to stock. They tend to follow winemakers and particular producers they like more than show results. Have spoken to this guy there a few times now and he really is very enthusiastic about Geoff Hardy. Now, I have drunk very little Pinot Noir and have liked significantly less. It wasn't until I was at Wignalls just outside of Albany that I think I finally began to understand what people were going on about. The problem of course is that whereas you can still get a wine made from Shiraz or Cabernet Sauvignon that punches above its weight for below $30, it seems almost impossible for Pinot Noir. Paying $30 as I did for this wine appears to be the minimum required if you want something that is going to provide more than just quaffing. And I'd say I'm pretty happy with the recommendation. As is typical of the variety, the colour of the wine as it is poured into the glass is always a worry to me. I like something that is as dark and impenetrable as possible. While the colour is fresh, it is also clear. I can't help thinking "thin" would be a word to describe it. But I've got to put that Bordeaux and Rhonish prejudice aside. This is different. I don't have the language to describe the smell and the taste adequately. I suppose I might be picking up things described as forest floor and whatever, but then again, I'm not sure what a forest floor smells like. But there is a smell and a taste that I have come to like quite a lot with this wine and, while of course not having the body of a Cabernet or a Shiraz wine, it isn't gutless or weak though, (the besetting sin of so many Pinot Noirs). It is almost all gone and I am regretting this a great deal.

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