This wine thoroughly surprised me with its burst of pleasant flavor. While it is a pinot noir and I expected more of a subtle taste, it had an amazing amount of fruity flavor more reminiscent of a cabernet or finer aged merlot. I personally am more partial to more flavorful wines such as a good South African pinotage or cab and this was undoubtedly the best and smoothest pinot noir I have ever had. While it is not cheap, I decided to order one or two because it was so good. HTH