Chateau St Jean Sonoma Pinot Noir 2004

At a retail price of $19.00, this tasty Pinot Noir is a good value. If you got it on sale at Vons or Safeway last week for $12.00, it was a steal, and for the $15.00 I paid today at Molly Stones in Sausalito, it is still a value.

I was in Pasadena last week attending to a heart valve replacement, (my mother's, not mine...) and wondered into Vons, the Safeway of the southland. I found this wine demurely occupying space on the wine shelves were there was just a small sign showing the sale price. Since I was mostly without anything to do, I was on a hunt for food and wine. Of course since it was on sale, I figured, "why not".

I found a small, five table, Japanese restaurant in the same small shopping center and grabbed some food to take back to my small but adequate room at the hospital. The rooms are refurbished hospital rooms in one small wing, and include a bed, TV, toilet and closet. The shower is down the hall. Just like college. Convenient and inexpensive (relatively speaking) for those with a need to be around for extended periods, but without medical care.

The wine was an eye opener. Chateau St. Jean is known for its Cinq Cepages, a $75 blend that is considered great in good years. But they also make a full line of product, the Sonoma Pinot Noir being one. This Pinot has a nice full nose of cherries and spice, a viscous appearance in the glass, and a lush full mouth of flavor. For most, this may represent the best Pinot they may ever taste. For others with a fatter checkbook and more nerve, there are better wines. But at over $50, I am not sure how much more you are buying. CSJ also makes a reserve version for $55.00 if you are so inclined. If you happen to taste them side by side, let me know what you find out.

The 2004 Sonoma Pinot Noir is from fruit sourced both from the Russian River and Carneros regions of Sonoma, hence the Sonoma designation. But make no mistake; both regions can produce excellent fruit, and the folks at CSJ have found some mighty fine fruit for this wine.