This week Pinot Noir -
Burgundy is the spiritual homeland of this fragile, winsome and difficult variety, where, nurtured carefully like a mercurial and demanding artist, it has produced the world’s most sublime, cerebral wines. However in a fit of piqué in December WineChap nearly swore off this cruel and expensive mistress which so often disappoints expensively. While it’s not beyond hope to hunt down some tolerably priced, red Burgundy, with Pinot now being widely planted across the globe there are some great value alternatives out there to choose from…
1/ Pinot Noir 2006, Mount Dottrel, Central Otago, New Zealand
Matthew Jukes, one of the UKs best known wine critics, recently stated that New Zealand is making more good value Pinot Noir than any other country and this is a great example. Previously dairy-farmers, Roy McCallum and his wife bought their vineyard as bare earth as recently as 2000; yet their 2007 Pinot Noir won the Bouchard–Finlayson Trophy for the Best Pinot Noir in the World in the 2009 London International Wine and Spirit Competition. The 2006 received 92 points from Robert Parker – this is a lighter-styled Kiwi Pinot Noir showing attractive flavours of cherry and spice, elegant, with nicely balanced minerality and acidity.
Where to drink: The Capital
Where to buy: everywine.co.uk
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2/ Plantagenet “Omrah”, Pinot Noir 2007, Mt. Barker, W. Australia
Pinot Noir tends to thrive in cooler climes, so Western Australia does not immediately spring to mind as the ideal terroir for it. Nevertheless Plantagenet have successfully produced this exceptional value Pinot in the cool-climate area of Mount Barker; fuller and fruitier in style than its leaner old world counterparts, the ripe cherry and raspberry notes are nicely counterbalanced by touches of spice and warm earthy tones.
Where to drink: Benares
Where to buy: West Mount Wine; The Imperial Wine Company; Highbury Vintners
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3/ Amayna Pinot Noir 2006, Leyda, Chile
Rather than choosing the 2005 Gevrey Chambertin ‘Vieilles Vignes’, Domaine Roy Marc, or the 2002 Chambolle-Musigny, Domaine Christian Clerget, opt for the 2006 Amayna Pinot Noir. Owned by the Garces Silva family, Amayna, which translates as “the calm after the storm”, is amongst a relatively new wave of super premium Chilean wines. The vineyards are in the Leyda valley, a cool climate region on the coast which boasts a long, cool ripening season ideal for Pinot Noir. This vintage produced a wine with a nose chock-full of ripe black cherries and blueberries leading to a concentrated palate of rich red fruit.
Where to drink: Plateau
Where to buy: Highbury Vintners; Grape Passions
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4/ St. Laurent 2007, Weingut Heinrich, Burgenland, Austria
As it shares some characteristics with its cousin Pinot Noir (see our previous blog “Arnie, not Austria’s only export…”), St Laurent offers an intriguing alternative to those looking for something a little off the beaten track. A bit more powerful than the typical Pinot, this shows captivating dark berry fruit notes with a savoury edge of tomato and paprika.
Where to drink: Chez Bruce
Where to buy: Winestore; Everywine.co.uk; Nickolls & Perks
Wine Picks of the Week #6 The Vintellect Series continued
This week Pinot Noir -
Burgundy is the spiritual homeland of this fragile, winsome and difficult variety, where, nurtured carefully like a mercurial and demanding artist, it has produced the world’s most sublime, cerebral wines. However in a fit of piqué in December WineChap nearly swore off this cruel and expensive mistress which so often disappoints expensively. While it’s not beyond hope to hunt down some tolerably priced, red Burgundy, with Pinot now being widely planted across the globe there are some great value alternatives out there to choose from…
1/ Pinot Noir 2006, Mount Dottrel, Central Otago, New Zealand
Matthew Jukes, one of the UKs best known wine critics, recently stated that New Zealand is making more good value Pinot Noir than any other country and this is a great example. Previously dairy-farmers, Roy McCallum and his wife bought their vineyard as bare earth as recently as 2000; yet their 2007 Pinot Noir won the Bouchard–Finlayson Trophy for the Best Pinot Noir in the World in the 2009 London International Wine and Spirit Competition. The 2006 received 92 points from Robert Parker – this is a lighter-styled Kiwi Pinot Noir showing attractive flavours of cherry and spice, elegant, with nicely balanced minerality and acidity.
Where to drink: The Capital
Where to buy: everywine.co.uk
——————————-
2/ Plantagenet “Omrah”, Pinot Noir 2007, Mt. Barker, W. Australia
Pinot Noir tends to thrive in cooler climes, so Western Australia does not immediately spring to mind as the ideal terroir for it. Nevertheless Plantagenet have successfully produced this exceptional value Pinot in the cool-climate area of Mount Barker; fuller and fruitier in style than its leaner old world counterparts, the ripe cherry and raspberry notes are nicely counterbalanced by touches of spice and warm earthy tones.
Where to drink: Benares
Where to buy: West Mount Wine; The Imperial Wine Company; Highbury Vintners
——————————-
3/ Amayna Pinot Noir 2006, Leyda, Chile
Rather than choosing the 2005 Gevrey Chambertin ‘Vieilles Vignes’, Domaine Roy Marc, or the 2002 Chambolle-Musigny, Domaine Christian Clerget, opt for the 2006 Amayna Pinot Noir. Owned by the Garces Silva family, Amayna, which translates as “the calm after the storm”, is amongst a relatively new wave of super premium Chilean wines. The vineyards are in the Leyda valley, a cool climate region on the coast which boasts a long, cool ripening season ideal for Pinot Noir. This vintage produced a wine with a nose chock-full of ripe black cherries and blueberries leading to a concentrated palate of rich red fruit.
Where to drink: Plateau
Where to buy: Highbury Vintners; Grape Passions
——————————–
4/ St. Laurent 2007, Weingut Heinrich, Burgenland, Austria
As it shares some characteristics with its cousin Pinot Noir (see our previous blog “Arnie, not Austria’s only export…”), St Laurent offers an intriguing alternative to those looking for something a little off the beaten track. A bit more powerful than the typical Pinot, this shows captivating dark berry fruit notes with a savoury edge of tomato and paprika.
Where to drink: Chez Bruce
Where to buy: Winestore; Everywine.co.uk; Nickolls & Perks
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