Terra Barossa Eden Valley Pinot Grigio '07

Country: Australia
Thoughts: As D.C. gets pummeled with a snowstorm - five inches or better, supposedly - there was no better time to jump back in and get with the wine tastings. The poor fridge is bursting at the seams, for heaven's sake. While on a recent assignment, I happened to be in a town that had a nice little wine shop, or so I'd read. When I found some time to slip away, I did so. And this one caught my eye. I thought, hmmm, a pinot from Australia; you don't see many of those. (If I had any sort of memory, I might have recalled that, in fact, I had already done a pinot from Australia.) But I came at this one from a different angle: Could I taste the difference between this, the Aussie version, and the other pinots I've tried - which, with a handful of exceptions, came from the U.S. or Italy? Not only could I taste a difference, it almost seemed like this was a different grape altogether. The Lindemans largely held true to form; this did not. In many ways, from nose to tongue, it had more elements of a sauvignon blanc than a pinot. This was fruit backward, to twist a phrase, with hints of stoniness and earthiness coming here and there. It was restrained; the rush of flavor never really happened. Additionally, it didn't seem to have a lot of structure to it. The slight earthiness was there, and that was about it. Still, it didn't taste bad, and was considerably different than the other pinots I've had. An example of extreme terroir, perhaps?
Do-over? It would depend on my mood
Final Grade: C+