2007 Miolo Pinot Noir Vale dos Vinhedos 13.5%
This wine hails from Brazil's only DOC-equivalent, the Vale dos Vinhedos (Valley of the Vineyards), an area colonized by Italian immigrants starting c. 1875. They began to make wine there for personal consumption, mostly from non-vinifera grapes, and over time it developed into the principal wine making region of Brazil, even though it is too humid and seldom received enough average sunlight until global warming hit the fan from 1999 onwards. Miolo is the biggest producer in Brazil and makes many monovarietals and blends (that word first came out as blands, no doubt a Freudian slip). Pinot Noir is one of the least available varietals and Miolo discontinued their Pinot Noir from Vale dos Vinhedos in 2006 (they still make a less expensive version from a different region), so I was surprised to find the above for sale at Astor and Garnet in New York for $12, with good in-store reviews like "Good intensity, very delicate and fine. Descriptors: Coffee, chocolate, dried prunes, caramel, coconut, strawberry. A medium bodied wine that initially presents a pleasant and velvety sensation in the mouth. At a second instance, delicate and balance tannins arise, leaving a long sensation of finesse." When visiting the Vale dos Vinhedos late in December, I stopped by Miolo to ask about this and was informed that it was a batch made exclusively for export "at the request of an American client"...
On to the wine: very dark mauve, more bordeaux than burgundy. Funky cherry aromas with some rubber and glycerin. Mouthfeel is initially quite acidic and peppery with a slightly bitter finish. Some unidentified herbs vie for attention. Well-integrated and not at all heavy-handed American oak vanilla. Hard to see pinosoty in this, though Marcia, more kind hearted, says she does. In short, decent acid/sweet balance once it airs and is sipped with food, but nothing to write home about (literally). Much as I would like to make a scene and denounce the venality of reserving your best stuff for export, I can't say that Brazil is missing much.