From vibrant ruby with glittering purple berry flavours to deep crimson glowering with savoury and spice, Pinot Noir is an amazingly numerous wine. Listed here are 9 throughout the spectrum effectively value exploring.
In all probability one of the crucial misunderstood wine varieties, Pinot Noir likes to run its personal race. Even to the purpose the place consuming it from two completely different formed glasses with change the style of the identical Pinot Noir fully.
We learnt this trick just a few years in the past.
It made us surprise what number of bottles of fine Pinot we hadn’t executed justice to simply from utilizing the fallacious stemware.
And it’s not simply us hapless shoppers which have hassle with Pinot Noir. As our good friend and sensible wine-maker Lisa McGuigan places it:
“Pinot Noir is an excellent performer if you may make it behave, each within the winery and on the vineyard.”
However if you can bend this headstrong grape to your will (and you’ve got the suitable glass after all), you’re rewarded with one in all—if not probably the most scrumptious multifaceted wine whose complicated flavour profile belies its medium physique.
And if in case you have the persistence and willpower, it’ll pay you again many occasions over in the event you can depart or not it’s for a decade or so.
Past its personal life, Pinot Noir continues to do nice issues.
Try our overview of this American single malt whiskey from Westward Distillery has been aged for over two years in ex-Pinot Noir barrels, bringing a complete new depth of flavours to the whiskey.
And these three Australian craft spirits we’ve written about are all feeling the affect of Pinot Noir in quite a lot of approach too.
However again to the guts of the matter, listed below are 9 of our favorite Pinot Noirs it is best to try:
1. Lisa McGuigan Platinum Assortment Pinot Noir (2015) – Wrattonbully, SA
On the richer, bolder facet of the Pinot Noir line, this wine reveals Lisa’s dexterity and talent with such a tough selection. Wealthy, silky and intense, it is a fantastic instance of Pinot’s savoury facet.
Grapes had been left complete however de-stemmed to ferment for 20 days earlier than urgent and maturing in outdated French oak for 9 months. However I get the sensation there’s extra to it than that!
Purchase Lisa McGuigan Platinum Assortment Pinot Noir right here.
2. De Beaurepaire Perceval Pinot Noir (2019) – Rylstone, NSW
Medium bodied with wealthy cherry, rhubarb, raspberry, strawberry and earthiness—in addition to hints of vanilla from the oak, this wine could be very a lot within the fashion of the Burgundy you’ll discover in France.
The De Beaurepaire household’s Burgundian heritage and the winery’s terroir that’s as shut central-eastern France as potential, that is precisely their goal. This wine spends 12 months in French oak, 30% of which is in new barrels.
Purchase De Beaurepaire Perceval Pinot Noir right here.
3. Holm Oak Pinot Noir Property Grown (2021) – Tamar Valley, TAS
This cool-climate wine has touches of strawberry and loads of darkish cherry on the nostril that result in much more cherry and complicated spice on the palate. Juicy, silky textures with a stunning lengthy end and good construction counsel loads of cellaring potential—Bec Duffy, Holm Oak’s owner-winemaker—suggests no less than 10 years.
This Pinot is constituted of de-stemmed estate-grown grapes within the Tamar Valley which can be matured in French oak—1/4 in new, 3/4 in one-to-four-year-old casks—for 10 months.
Purchase Holm Oak Pinot Noir right here.
4. Holm Oak Pinot Noir Protege (2022) – Tamar Valley, TAS
Fairly completely different to Holm Oak’s savoury spicy single winery Pinot that we’ve already talked about, the Protege is made with Pinot Noir’s tender fruit notes in thoughts. It’s additionally the lightest in physique of those wines.
Grapes are fermented with their skins on for 10 days utilizing yeast that purposefully brings out fruit-forward aromatics. The wine’s then matured in tanks so there’s no oak to the purple.
The main focus of this Pinot could be very a lot on being mild and vibrant, and the right on a regular basis wine. Having mentioned that, it’s nonetheless daring sufficient to face as much as strong-flavoured meals like sport meat and blue cheese, so it’s no shrinking violet both.
Purchase Holm Oak Protege Pinot Noir right here.
5. Ghost Rock Wines’ Climat Pinot Noir ( 2020) – Cradle Coast, TAS
This natural single-vineyard iteration from a stupendous little Tasmanian vineyard reveals how a lot vary Pinots have. Gentle floral aromas and a transparent vibrant color present fairly the alternative to what lies inside this wine.
Impressively intense spice, pepper, tobacco and leather-based leap out at you from the primary sip adopted by a juicy acidity and creamy mouthfeel. The end doesn’t dangle round too lengthy, however that simply makes you wish to take one other style.
Grapes for this wine are grown organically on a small two-hectare block that’s managed vine-to-vine for the very best natural practices and to make sure the grapes are in excellent situation at harvest.
Purchase Ghost Rock’s Climat Pinot Noir right here.
6. Tamar Ridge Reserve Pinot Noir (2019) – Tamar Valley, TAS
The cooler climates and stonier terroir in Tasmania actually do swimsuit Pinot Noir, and Tamar Ridge’s Reserve Pinot is a superb instance of that. Darkish berries and plums, spice and a savoury construction to the wine create an exquisite steadiness with a stunning lengthy end.
This complicated wine isn’t a yearly factor although, with Tamar Ridge solely releasing their reserve vary on distinctive vintages, so it’s value preserving an eye fixed out for these particularly.
Purchase Tamar Ridge Pinot Noir Reserve right here.
7. Howard Park Flint Rock Pinot Noir (2020) – Nice Southern, WA
From Australia’s largest wine area, this Pinot is a superb instance of the varietal: someway concurrently delicate and sturdy, with a tender silkiness and loads of that signature darkish cherry.
Grapes from two separate subregions—Porongurup and Mount Barker, the nation’s oldest subregion—carry ranges of spice and flint respectively to a wine that’s genuinely satisfying.
Purchase Howard Park Flint Rock Pinot Noir right here.
8. Petaluma Pinot Noir (2021) – Central Otago, NZ
New Zealand typically and Central Otago particularly is well-known for producing very good Pinot Noir. This wine reveals vibrancy, darkish berry aromas and a light-weight cherry elevate earlier than a silky easy mid-palate and a tremendous refreshing tannin end.
Petaluma selects grapes from a number of distinctive winery websites which can be fermented in chrome steel, with 25% going into new French oak.
Purchase Petaluma Pinot Noir right here.
9. Tempus Two Pewter Vary Pinot Chardonnay (2013) – Adelaide Hills, SA
You would possibly suppose that is dishonest, however ignoring glowing wine can be a mistake. A lot of the bubbly we drink has no less than a contact of Pinot Noir, and that factor has a profound influence on the wine.
Made out of premium Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes from Adelaide Hills that’s aged for 48 months on lees, this glowing reveals contemporary white peach and delicate strawberry aromas together with elegant crisp acidity and tender creamy complicated end.
It is a museum launch (I wrestle with cellaring wine myself) but it surely reveals simply how effectively Pinot—and Chardonnay for that matter—can age.
In the event you loved this story, it is best to try a few of our different wine evaluations right here.
