Pinot Noir is one of the oldest known grape varieties and one of the most sought after. In Burgundy it is the only grape of the great red wines; elsewhere, California, Oregon and New Zealand also make highly prized bottles.
A grape of many faces
It has been made into wine for at least two thousand years. In the vineyard it mutates easily, so a very large number of clones exist today. It is a delicate grape, prone to rot and trunk diseases, so growers choose their clones for disease resistance, soil and climate.
Within the same vineyard, these clones give grapes that differ in colour, yield and aroma, and many winemakers blend them for complexity. In the glass, Pinot Noir gives pale wines with fine tannins and aromas of cherry, raspberry and violet, with forest-floor and spice notes as it ages.
Did you know? Its name is said to come from the shape of its bunch, tight like a pine cone. Pinot Noir is also a parent of many grapes, including Chardonnay, Aligoté, Gamay and Melon de Bourgogne (the Muscadet grape).
Burgundy
Its greatest wines come from the Côte d’Or, divided into the Côte de Nuits and the Côte de Beaune. The Côte de Nuits is known for powerful, structured reds, from villages such as Gevrey-Chambertin, Chambolle-Musigny, Vougeot, Vosne-Romanée and Nuits-Saint-Georges.
California
Northern California suits it well. Sonoma County offers a whole range, from the generous Pinots of the Russian River Valley to tauter wines from coastal appellations such as the Sonoma Coast and Fort Ross-Seaview. Further north, Anderson Valley in Mendocino County also makes very fine ones.
Oregon
Pinot Noir is Oregon’s flagship grape, mostly in the Willamette Valley: a cool climate with mild winters and many sub-appellations reflecting the variety of soils and microclimates.
Elsewhere in the world
It succeeds in most cool regions: Germany, where it is called Spätburgunder, Austria and Italy in Europe; New Zealand, Australia, Chile, South Africa, New York State and Ontario in the New World.
Synonyms
Blauer Spätburgunder, Spätburgunder.
The glass
Pinot Noir loves very wide, balloon-shaped glasses that gather its delicate aromas: the Riedel Performance Pinot Noir glass.
