Tasting - "[yellow tail]" - Pinot Noir

Hello everyone! Hope you are all doing swell!

In this tasting, I chose to try the Pinot Noir from [yellow tail]. This bottle is a product of Australia and hails from the southeast in the Yenda winery. The Yenda winery is located in the southeast region of New South Wales, Australia. This particular bottle is vintage 2023 and contains a the primary grape being the Pinot Noir grape variety. This bottle was available at Kroger for only $7.99. 

 

Christina Pickard of the "WineEnthusiast" website, gave this bottle, I'll be it, vintage 2022, a rating of 85. What this means is the wine is "Good" and " Suitable for everyday consumption, often good value." Furthermore, she explained that "There's lots of minty oak showing at first sniff" and that the "palate is mid-weight with some juicy red fruit." She was unable to uncover the underlying raspberry, plum fruit, and spice beneath the oak scent, and elaborated that "the oak is on display [in the first sip], particularly on the tongue-drying tannin's (“Yellow Tail 2022 Pinot Noir (South Eastern Australia).”).

Referencing the wonderful book "Wine Folly" by Madeline Puckette and Justin Hammack, was very helpful during the tasting for identifying the flavors and aromas of the Pinot Noir. 

First, following pages 27 and 28, the wine had a pale ruby shade and looked quite light for a red wine. On page 206, the Victoria Pinot Noir from southeast Australia, is a medium red. Visually, this wine looked so and on first sniff following the tips on page 28, I could make out what I had thought was raspberry or cherry. This might mean I was picking up more of the tertiary aromas from the oak barrels the wine was aged in. I also though I smelled a hint of vanilla which is an aspect of Pinot Noir's explained on page 150 of "Wine Folly." 

Following the tips and tricks on page 32 in "Wine Folly," the first sip showed that the wine was slightly sweet. The wine has light acidity to me with no discernible large amount of tannin. This would make sense given on page 19, Pinot Noir's are typically ranked low in tannin content. The aftertaste seemd to have a cocoa flavor to it and earth-like finish. Pinot Noir's supposedly have the secondary flavor of truffle and cocoa, see page 150 of "Wine Folly." Although I am not an expert in truffle flavor, I could taste an earth-like finish with a nice amount of cocoa.

Tasting this wine with Gouda cheese gave the wine a much fruitier flavor upfront and brought out creaminess in the cheese. I would highly recommend pairing this Pinot Noir with Gouda in the future although next time, I want to pair this wine with smoked Gouda and jam!

Thank you everyone and have a splendid week! Will be back with the next wine I taste, should be a Merlot!

References: 

“Yellow Tail 2022 Pinot Noir (South Eastern Australia).” Wine Enthusiast, 20 Feb. 2024, www.wineenthusiast.com/buying-guide/yellow-tail-2022-pinot-noir-south-eastern-australia/?queryID=8dfc56baad2a3c28ac7b2bb2f323b543&objectID=wine#438337&indexName=PROD_WINEENTHUSIAST_REVIEWS. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.