The StoryThe Moon X Black Pinot Noir 2017 is a $6.99 Trader Joe's wine, but I don't think it is a TJ's exclusive a website from New York sells it online for $9.99. The 2016 vintage of the Moon X Black Pinot was the #1 page on CheapWineFinder for about a year and a half, a lot of folks like this wine. The Black in the name is a hint, this isn't your typical Pinot Noir. It is Trader Joe's version of the extremely popular Meiomi Pinot Noir. Pinot purists hated Meiomi, but everyone else seems to love it, the founder sold the company for a 1/3 of a billion dollars, it looks like ignoring the purists is lucrative. There is isn't a technical sheet available for Moon X and at this part of the story I have not yet tasted the wine, but I would imagine that this isn't 100% Pinot Noir. There needs to be 75% of a single varietal to put the name on the front label, so the Moon X could have a good amount of other grapes involved. Which it would also have in common with Meiomi. The back label mentioned lightly toasted oak which can add vanilla, chocolate, and spice, but to discover more we will have to pour ourselves a glass. The alcohol content is 13.5%.The Tasting NotesThe color is more purple than black. The nose isn't very Pinot-like, but it isn't bad, There is red berries, black pepper, dark chocolate, a touch of herbs, ripe black cherry, and a savory note. This is a soft, smooth Red wine, slightly jammy, with a dash of spice. It tastes of blackberry, cherry, plum, creamy vanilla, soft spice, and black pepper. The mid-palate adds raspberry, chocolate, tart cranberry, and some orange zest. The tannins are sweet and don't interfere, and the acidity is such that I think this is more of a sipping wine than a food wine (the 2016 vintage had a bit more structure), though burgers, pizza, steak burritos would do well. The finish is soft and faes before long.The Summary * If you are looking for a solid $6.99 Pinot Noir, this ain't it. If you want a well priced soft smooth tasty Red blend, then give it a try. * It isn't over-the-top rich and jammy, it is fairly balanced. * You may want to audition the Moon X for the Holiday party season. This really isn't a Meiomo Pinot Noir competitor but at almost 1/3 the price and with some similarities it may be smart to keep a couple of bottles on hand.

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