I had the 07 Meridian pinot noir recently (wine is from Italy) and was underwhelmed. I suppose it comes from drinking lots of 82 and 85 Cote du Nuits when I lived in Dijon in 1988, but I haven't had a Pinot Noir this side of the pond that I really enjoyed (and now Italian as well). I will admit that I haven't gone Costa Browne or anything crazy, but I'm not going to spend 50+ bucks just to get a pinot I like. I admit that the reasonably prices pinots from Bourgogne are damned hard to find as well. I used to get the Napa Ridge pinot for 3-3.50 15 years ago at Osco in Illinois (wasn't available in FL) ... that had decent if light pinot character and was a nice deal. In Dijon, I bought a lot of Bourgogne from a small place in Nuits St Georges that was excellent, supposedly just across the fence from higher NSG classification. It was 4.50-5 bucks in 1998 if I remember right.
Since I can get a nice Chianti from one of the superiore areas for 10-14 bucks, I stick with those normally. A nice one I had recently for under 11 bucks. Firm tannins but not dusty/drying, good concentration, nice sang/fruit character, goes well with food. Had the 2007.
