ANYTHING BUT THE PINOT NOIR

Have you noticed when buying wine on the wine sales in supermarkets that the advertisements are for a range of wines (e.g. Selaks Premium Selection, Villa Maria Cellar Selection. Montana Reserve etc.) with a rider at the bottom saying "Special price does not include the Pinot Noir).
Thos is because, generally speaking, Pinot Noir is more expensive to create than most other varietals. There are lots of reasons for this (in the past scarcity was a factor but no more), being that Pinot Noir crops  in lower volumes, does not respond well to being forced into higher volumes, needs delicate and expensive crushing, requires good wood treatment and lots of winemaking input etc.

I was pleasantly surprised today in seeing the Stoneleigh range including Pinot Noir all being priced at $11.95 in Pak 'n' Save, quite a few dollars less than it is usually priced at.
This 2008 Marlborough wine is a real typical Marlborough beauty. It has a soft and supple texture with the fruit tannins and gentle wood waiting in reserve. The nose is again typical with cherry and strawberry notes but with an even deeper fruity fragrance of raspberries/blackberries. It finishes with a nice earth and spice flavour but the fruit still shines through. In summary a surprise and a very pleasant one. This is good wine at its normal price ($18+?) but at $11.95 a bargain.