2004 Château Philippe-Le-Hardi Pinot Noir Vieilles Vignes (Terra Vitis Cert.)

With even cursory consideration, the concept of assigning a dollar value to wine quality will surely elicit expressions of contempt and disapproving looks from wine lovers, on aesthetic and even ethical grounds. With vast aisles of expensive, well-marketed garbage on store shelves however, the issue of value and quality really doesn’t elude wine lovers. In fact, it is very much a constant concern for this one. As unpalatable as I find ill-conceived synesthetic projections of utilitarianism in phrases like “this wine tastes like $x”, I am all too aware of my constant desire to enjoy more complex wines for much less than what the overly pretentious crowd pays. These situations are all too common, usually involving “big” Italian, French and Napa reds that to my astonishment are at the same time praised for being “easy drinking” in nature. The seemingly jubilant party seems desperate to justify having spent an unreasonable amount of money on a bottle they were truthfully unsure and unknowledgeable about to begin with. Perhaps this conversation should shift to more concrete terms though.

The wine in the title caption above has certainly moved into my top five most insane quality-for-price experiences of all time. Let’s think about this—a spectacular old vines Pinot Noir from Côte d’Or that passes itself off under an unassuming, general Burgundy appellation label, produced according to green viticultural practices that are certified by the most stringent and fanatical board of its kind in France. Producers who upon constant inspection and reporting, maintain their highly coveted “Terra Vitis” association certification do not tend to produce wines on the cheap. Nevertheless, here we have an unpretentious $14.99 bottle of Pinot Noir that deserves much more in the way of pomp than an unfortunate number of more costly, highly touted prestige appellation reds from Burgundy which have recently and quite surprisingly disappointed me. Let me clarify for the record however, that keeping price out of the equation, Burgundy’s best reds are still worth walking on glass to drink. Should one be willing to take the gamble though, a wine like this Le-Hardi old vines Pinot Noir can produce sensorial phenomena akin to more prestigious, expensive bottles in the way of beautifully intercalated layers of warm spice, smoky wood, black truffle and rich fruit—wave after wave of which is suspended illusorily by an imperceptible, powerful mast of almost tannin-less structure. There’s not much more to say about this one except that passing it up verges on vini-sacrilege.

Tasting notes:

The nose is lovely, with concentrated strawberry jam, light earth, a hint of black truffle and spice. An intense set of refreshing strawberry and cherry flavors is rendered to near perfection under a light texture with minimal tannins. Not lacking a light yet compelling spicy character, the perfectly balanced sweetness-acidity factor of the fruit is also rounded out with warm robust tones of truffle and earth. I’m thinking of seared tuna steak au poivre but with a wine like this, there are many more exciting possibilities for the foodies to come up with than what I can muster.