MGM Pinot Noir
Wine: MGM Pinot Noir.
Grape: Pinot noir
Region: Vin de Pays D’Oc, Southern France
Vintage: 2011
Price: $5.99
In the glass: MGM Pinot Noir is a nicely dark crimson red with a semi-opaque core going out into a light garnet rim definition with light to medium viscosity.
On the nose: The wine has classic red berries written all over it with red cherries, freshly baked raspberry Danish and English currant preserve, then a fresh blast of cool minerals, herbs and fig leaf coming out of the glass.
On the palate: It is a lovely rounded mouthful of wine with red berries dominating the taste buds, but there’s a spice component that immediately gives us a hint that it is from a warmer climate than Burgundy, where pinot noir is indigenous. Crushed red cherries, bramble fruit and red currants are present with touches of cranberry juice going through the spice-laden midpalate, into a nicely balanced finish redolent with soft tannins that are entirely unobtrusive. It is simply a pleasant little quaffing wine.
Odds and ends: Rather than this being the house wine at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, the MGM stands for Martine Galhaud Moulin, and as it is slightly less palatable to the American wine market, hence the handy abbreviation. Great pinot noir always comes from Burgundy in the northeastern part of France, yet this delicious little pretender pinot comes from the south of France, where winemakers can blend with abandon, as well as produce wine from pretty much any grape variety they want; something not possible in Burgundy. While this is not blended, it does show that warmer climate pinot, like the ones grown in California, can indeed produce something highly enjoyable, if not the most complex wines in the world. To boot, you’re only being asked to part with as little as about $6 per bottle, so no rocket science is needed to be employed in the pursuit of drinking pleasure. Try it with a grilled lightly pepper-dusted fillet of salmon on the grill. Drink it now through 2014.
Gil Lempert-Schwarz’s wine column appears Wednesdays. Write him at P.O. Box 50749, Henderson, NV 89106-0749, or email him at gil@winevegas.com.
