Contrasts - NZ Pinot Noir and Argentinian Cab

[spa...@gmail.com]

I hope everyone's been having a good summer. We've had a few excuses to
enjoy wine, but we also took some time off to have a baby which cut
into the whole leisure time pretty well.

I had two bottles over the past couple days that I thought were
interesting, if not wholly satisfying.

The first was "The Jibe" Pinot Noir, a New Zealand wine that I bought
at the State Store. I am told that Pinot Noir still has a long way to
go in NZ and this seemed to confirm it. It was not unpleasant, but it
was fairly thin, not much to talk about.

There's a Sauv Blanc on the LCB's website from The Jibe but no sign of
the Pinot. Here's a vendor's site: http://www.badgerwest.com/jibe.shtml
. It says it "will complement your lifestyle superbly" so I guess my
lifestyle needs some adjustment.

The other bottle was a Argentinian Cabernet Sauvignon called Cruz Alta
- it was bought at Total Wine for $12. Not surprisingly the cab had a
lot more body than the Pinot, it was fairly rough with a lot of
tannins. It's always possible (although not likely) that the wine could
smooth out after cellaring.

But given my druthers, I'd rather have a wine that tried too hard than
one that didn't at all. There's a lot of average stuff out there, and
winemakers looking to be nothing more than that.

What's everyone else drinking these days? I'd love to hear some
recommendations.