Arrow Creek 2006 – I have this tendency when drinking certain reds to have absolutely no idea what they’re supposed to taste like.  From my memory, Pinots tasted more like a merlot or a cab, something that doesn’t bitch-slap the tongue.  So when I first drank this $6 bottle of wine (yes, you read that right, times are tough here in NV), I figured it was sharp because it was, after all, a cheap bottle of wine.  Then I reread some of my past entries of Pinots, and they are a bit beefier than other reds.  On a scale of beef, with 0 being a guy whose idea of working out is playing Madden on Xbox, and 100 being a guy who sleeps on a moving treadmill, this one is around 60.  Not Zinfandel strong, but certainly enough to rattle your cage a bit.  (I don’t compare this to other reds – Zins – to be snobby and pretend like I know everything, it’s actually so I remember for later that Zins can kick your tongue’s patoot.)

Anyway, now that I’ve completely discredited myself as a reviewer, onto the review.  This was surprisingly good.  I daresay, it was one of the best wines I’ve had for under $7.  Truthfully, when you look at the competition, that isn’t saying much.  But I did a little reviewing, and the Arrow Creek Pinot Noir has gotten great reviews across the board, one person even commenting how it’s better than some of the $20 or $30 bottles of Pinot Noir.  I couldn’t agree more.  Well, I probably could – it’s not like I wrote the person to tell them how accurate their statement was.  This is a great wine for the price.  Wine enthusiasts may swirl their wine glass at me snootily, but it’s true.  It’s a darn fine cheap wine.

I ended up drinking it quicker than I had planned (I was planning on having some, not liking it much, writing a sardonic review, and then using the rest in my pasta sauce) but it was that good.  It was certainly the best Pinot I’ve had (out of 3), but hey, I bet there’s at least two or three others out there to compare it to.  Hopefully you can find this one for under $9, and I’d say grab it!  Good alone or with food, but probably not with cereal.  Can’t imagine that would be right.  7.5/10