CheapWineFinder Podcast

Uncorking Aldi's Willamette Valley Pinot Noir

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Ever wondered if a $12.99 bottle could deliver the experience of a premium regional wine? Our latest deep dive proves that exceptional wine doesn't always come with an exceptional price tag.

The Willamette Valley has earned its reputation as one of the world's finest Pinot Noir regions, with bottles typically starting at $25 and quickly climbing past $40. That's what makes Aldi's Specially Selected Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2024 such a fascinating discovery. At just $12.99, this wine challenges everything we assume about price and quality in the wine world.

Bottled by Precept Wine (the largest independently owned wine company in the Northwest), this Pinot showcases the classic transparency and garnet hue that aficionados look for. But it's the complexity that truly surprises - dried leaves, herbal notes, pencil shavings, black cherry, and cranberry create that quintessential Pinot Noir profile that makes you pause between sips. The mouthfeel balances smoothness with just enough spicy edge to keep things interesting. As one well-regarded online review site noted with its 94-point score: "Buy it, that's all there is to it."

The current wine industry downturn (with sales down roughly 10%) has created a silver lining for consumers. Excess inventory and production means premium wines are finding their way to market under store labels at fraction of typical costs. For Pinot lovers or anyone curious about what makes Willamette Valley special, this bottle offers an authentic experience without the premium price tag. It's not "dumbed down" for mass appeal - it's a genuine example of what makes Oregon Pinot Noir special. Try it with your next meal or simply on its own, and discover what happens when great wine regions meet great value. Have you found any exceptional wine bargains lately? We'd love to hear about your discoveries!

Check us out at www.cheapwinefinder.com

or email us at podcast@cheapwinefinder.com

SPEAKER_00:

Welcome, it's uh Domain Dave, cheapwinefinder.com again. We've got a uh value priced wine again today, this time from Aldi. This is from their specially selected series of wines, which are um they they they have value-priced wines, but from some of the best growing regions in the world. Um it's all over the world. You know, uh in Europe they have uh Rioja and you know the Bordeaux and they have Napa Valley and all that type of thing, and but at good prices. And today we have the Aldi specially selected Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2024. Willamette Valley for Pinot Noir is one of the premier uh locations for um for Pinot Noir wines. It's it's up there very high, it can compete with uh the best in the world. This is a$12.99 wine, and typically Willamette Valley wines run from like 25 to 40, and then from 40 on up. And and that's for estate wines, you know, from name brand wineries, that type of thing. But the only time you find$12.99 wines is when you're dealing with store brands and custom crush wines, and this is a custom crush wine. Precept wine is the largest independently owned uh wine company in the Northwest, and they own one of the companies that at least bottled this wine, but if they bottled it, they probably had something more to do, or at least another division of something did something with that. And this is a well, it's the grapes are from Willamette Valley, Oregon. And but we don't really know too much more than that. Um, there aren't really any bad vineyards in Willamette Valley. I mean, it commercial vineyards everywhere are professionally grown vineyards and uh and precept who had something to do with this wine, but they make excellent wines. They're they're professional and actually good. They're really good. So, and is this a wine that you know the wine business is down like 10%? Did somebody have extra grapes and sold them off? I don't know. They had extra uh extra wine. They had finished the wine and they've they canceled the they canceled a label and they bought it off. And is because this was only it was only bottled. Was that kind of what goes on here? I don't know. We don't know. Um, which is some of the cool things that's happening right now. When the wine industry is in trouble, wine drinkers can find bargains. Um our look my local big box wine shop has a outstanding sale on one wine. Uh they'll have like a$20 wine for$10 or a$15 wine for$5 every week just to get you in the door. And uh I don't know if it's working because usually when I get there, I figure they're sold out, and there never are. I think I'm the only one buying wine at half price, but you should be too. So let's see what this uh specially selected Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 24 is all about. In a local, not a local, but a one of the uh better in uh online wine review sites gave it 94 points and said buy it, that's all there is to it. And I kind of agree with that. It is uh see-through. You can almost read uh you can read your text through this on uh in the morning or your emails. Um it's garnet red, it's got that nice nose that Pinot Noir has, kind of funky, it's got a like dried crushed leaves, it's kind of got herbs, you know, weird things like pencil, pencil, like lead pencil shavings and that type of thing, along with black cherry and you know, and maybe cranberry and those kind of things. So it's it's always this really kind of odd mix of wonderful and what the heck was that? It is smooth, but it's got some rough edge in the spices. It's got a multitude of flavors. You sit there and just sip it, you know, take a minute before you just start talking and drinking just to figure out what's going on. Take a couple of sips, swish it around your mouth a little bit, and it will give you something to think about. I mean, at$12.99 you just normally want a good tasting wine that you don't have to think too much about. And not that this is a contemplate your navel wine, it's it's not, but it is worth some attention. I'm gonna take another sip. Yeah, it's a tasty wine. I mean, in my in my opinion, if you're a Pinot Noir, if you like Pinot Noir, or even if you just want to try it out with Lamette Valley Pinot Noir, this is a must-buy. If you see it in Aldi, it's$12.99. Give it a try. I mean, um, I don't know where you are when it comes to Pinot Noir. I mean, everybody's different. Um, this is one of my favorites. This in Santa Barbara, um, which is 100 miles north of Los Angeles. It's my second favorite place for Pinot Noir. I think I got one of those coming up, too. Um, but you know, it I like it, and I'm sure there's other people out there who do like it, and there's other people who just want to know what Willamette Valley is all about. And this for$12.99 is a good example. This is not a dumbed-down wine by any stretch of the imagination. It has what you want from a good Pinot Noir. It's got good uh mouthfeel, it's got good flavor, it's got a little bit of depth, it's got a little bit of complexity. You know, it's tennis$12.99. I'm gonna take another sip and we'll go um I think the I think my concerto here is slowing up. And let them let them take a break. So there you go, it's uh Aldi's specially selected Lamet Valley Pinot Noir 2024. It's a good wine, it's worth drinking, it tastes great, it's got a lot of flavor. Um, and it's and it's a well-made wine. It's not just a cheap wine, it's uh it's a wet very well-made wine. So there you go. Like us where you like your podcast, if you will. It does help. Um, for some reason, I don't know why in this day and age where they can track people, uh, they need someone to push a button for something. It doesn't make any sense to me. You know, you every time someone arrives a bank, they got 14 videos of them doing it like six miles away. So there you go, adios, keep it cheap, and I'll I've got um uh I've got a Napa Valley Chardonnay for cheap, and I've got a uh Santa Barbara Pinot Noir for cheap coming up, and we'll be talking about that because good cheap wine is why we're here. So adios, keep it cheap, and I'll be talking, everybody.