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The Pinot Noir grape: Specificities, the best regions for Pinot Noir…
Posted by Emmanuel - 03/06/10 at 10:03:15 am
Pinot Noir can produce some of the greatest wines in the world. The delicacy of the wines, the finely-tuned balance of acidity, sweetness and tannins make these wines absolutely unique. This red wine varietal is originally from Burgundy, in France. It has been widely exported, and has now become one of the most planted grapes in the world, although its implantation has met with varying success. Pinot Noir is a delicate grape; low yields are obligatory, otherwise the fruit is not ripe enough.
It also requires cold nights in order to cause the skin to thicken sufficiently to produce the proper tannins. Climate is thus absolutely critical for making a great Pinot, and the best Pinot Noirs usually come from cooler climates such as Central Otago in New Zealand, Oregon, British Columbia, or the Baden Lake in Germany. I must admit that I have never been touched by the grace of an Italian, Spanish or Australian Pinot Noir; I am still searching though. The Californian Pinots are a category of their own: Big, fruit forward, high alcohol, characterized by power more than finesse. They are not my cup of tea if I may say so, but to each his own…
The soil is also critical in the making of a great Pinot Noir. The geology of Burgundy is very complex. One can only understand that after a visit to Burgundy. All the famous villages are a stone’s throw away from one another. There is about a mile between Morey St Denis and Chambolle Musigny, yet the wines cannot be more different. The climate is the same, the winemakers are also the same, and the techniques are identical. Only the soils are radically different. In the XVI century the monks, who know a thing or two about winemaking, were so keenly aware of that fact that after torrential rains, they would dig up the soils drained by the water and drag it back up to the hill.
The winemaker is the third key element. More than anywhere else, the personality of the Pinot Noir winemaker and his hard work translates into the bottle. In the vineyard, green harvesting is one of the key techniques employed in order to maximize the ripeness. Limiting to low yields is a necessity. Then, choices for winemaking are numerous: Some producers swear by cold maceration prior to the start of alcoholic fermentation to obtain color and elegant tannins; some let maceration take place in the wine at the end of the fermentation in warm temperatures. Others use a combination of the two. The types of wine produced from the Pinot Noir are as numerous as the terroirs and the people who work them. This breadth of style is what we would like to show you with this month’s selection of a classic Burgundy, an interesting and unique wine from Germany, and an inexpensive Pinot from Chile.
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