Show Stealer: Lindeman's bin99 Pinot Noir 2007

Go out and buy this wine! Don't keep reading, go out and buy this wine and then return to read the remainder of this post.

I have been looking forward to the free Vampire Weekend concert in Central Park for about a month now. I decided it would be nice to pack a picnic, eat and drink while waiting to get in, and then see an amazing show. Well, I ate and drank; but, I didn't get to see the show. I always forget that I DON'T like free events. There are always mobs and mobs of people and a very very long wait. I decided that leaving two hours early for the show would be plenty of time...WRONG! There was a huge line when I arrived, and by huge, I mean I would be standing there for two hours before even getting into the venue. This what not a line that was moving; in fact, it was not a line. It was a mass of people that seemed very chaotic. After about 20 minutes of standing in line Zach and I realized that we weren't going to get to picnic or drink our wine if we stood in this line. There was no space to really eat/drink, at least not in a civilized manner. So, we made the decision to get out of line and setup our towel as close to the stage as possible. As soon as we cracked Lindeman's bin99 Pinot Noir 2007 open, we knew we had made the right decision. I had never had a pinot noir, not even after watching Sideways, and I am now a big fan. It is a red wine with great depth and flavor. The wine had lots of fruit flavors, that lasted throughout. I then pulled out the cous cous I had made earlier (a new one!). It had beets, corn, goat cheese, diced mixed greens, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper, and hot sauce. As we settled into the picnic, it started to rain. Right as the concert began, there was a crack of thunder and a flash of lightning. We decided to pack up, skip the concert, and got drenched in the process of walking back.



We continued to drink the wine after drying off. We drank the remainder of the bottle with a sweet potato bisque and a brie and havarti grilled cheese. The wine certainly stole the show. I think it would go well with anything. To me, the pinot noir was a perfectly balanced wine. I am no wine expert and certainly haven't had many bottles over 15 dollars, but this was certainly one of my favorite reds and it was only 7.99!