Laird Family Estate's Pinot Noir

I went to wine country a few months ago, and our first stop was the Laird Family Estate in Napa. I described the tasting in an earlier post, but this entry is to follow up on the Pinot Noir I had purchased (but hadn't actually tasted), their 2007 Pinot Noir from the Carneros region.

It was light to medium bodied, with a somewhat chalky texture in the sense that it didn't quite slip over my tongue, but it "snagged" a little and left my tongue feeling, well, chalky. This definitely had to do with the tannins, which were bright and astringent. The fruit was very underplayed--hints of bright cherry at best. The finish was tart and moderate. All in all, I did not particularly like this wine, but maybe I should have expected that: I believe I paid around $20 for it at the winery, and supposedly you can't find a "good" pinot for less than $30-40. I'll let you know when I taste the Bolletto pinot, which was $25!