Scab's Pinot Noir

The eternal quandry, you love Pinot Noir but are too scabby/ broke/ jobless/ homeless to buy a passable example( 17 euro minimum and no guarantee of quality). What to do? Reach with trepidation for a jammy Chilean or cheap, icing-sugared Kiwi?

Nay sir. The scabby wisedom lies in Marks and Spencer's Palatia Pinot Noir 2008 (12.99) from the Pfalz. M&S must have been justifiably fearful that anyone seeing a bottle which is a)from Germany and b) red wine, would run screaming for the padded safety of the underwear department. Accordingly the Spencers have cunningly disguised this wine with a trendy modern label and the name Palataia- derived from the state Rhineland-Palatinate. The overall effect is to allow the customer's inner dyslexic to takeover thus fostering the assumption that this wine must be from somewhere in Italy. 'I'll certainly try that' thinks the customer to himself, ' I love Italian wine and I've heard of Pinot Noir'. No one runs for cover to the underwear section, and Marks and Spencer sell a bottle of German red wine. Once at home indepth rereading of the back label with a highlighter pen just about reveals that this wine is from Pfalz, but by then the damage has been done and the customer is actively enjoying a bottle of german pinot noir.

But enough about the theory, what does the wine taste like?
It is fairly light, but juicy at the same time. There is a distinct pinot souboise nose and plenty of crunchy raspberry. The acidity is refreshing and the tannins are smooth. All in all this is good stuff and worth a hell of a lot more than 12.99 euro. It should be noted in passing that the same bottle is a risible 7.99 stg. Marks and Spencer often also do decent reductions on any 6 bottles.

Finally I suppose it is worth reflecting on the fact that a shop like Marks and Spencers are not buying German Pinot Noir because it sells itself, as a Chablis or Fleurie undoubtedly would.
It is probable that anything more outre than the usual categories is there because it is actively good, not because it is something they have to have.

This wine is also recommended by Jancis Robinson and Tim Aiken.
Try it with some plainly cooked salmon, or white meat.