What: Innocent Bystander Pinot Noir
Where: $17.99 on wine.com, or $50 at Jones in Singapore
Rating: 9
Non-Quantifiable Rating: Don't just sit there, order a case now!!
Innocent Bystander, where have you BEEN all my life?!?! It is probably good that this isn't a $6 bottle of wine, because that could cause serious consumption problems for those of us in the euphemistically labled "under-employed" category. I had this at a restaurant in Singapore and it was $54, but I looked it up on wine.com and those thrifty little buddies are selling it for $17.99 (which doesn't make any sense whatsoever, given Singapore's relative proximity to the Yarra Valley in Australia where the wine's from, but whatev.)
Ergo, under 20 bucks is the price to pay for this velvety bottle of scrumptiousness (and with a 90+ rating, it's all the better of a value). Pinot Noir is my favorite wine, but there's a massive range of quality in Pinots. I tend toward the more full-bodied ones, but some of those can be too acidic. This one is extremely smooth and just sweet enough without being all Singapore Slingy. I was lucky enough to drink it alongside a massive cheese platter (thanks, Nick and Julie!), and it stood up to the blue cheese without knocking down the milder Brie.
It's a screw top, which was a little disconcerting at first. However, according to my brother's brother-in-law (did you get that?), a seasoned wine aficionado, screw tops are not necessarily indicative of a bad wine; rather, synthetic corks are deal-breakers (that and...umm....boxes....and wines that start with "Boone's" and end in "Farm". Not that I would know.)
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