(PEE-noh nwahr)
Just as Merlot was pooh-poohed by Miles in Sideways, Pinot Noir was worshiped in its glorious difficulty. Pinot Noir is a finicky grape. It only grows in the right climate, with the right soils and the right care. Perhaps because it is so difficult is why it is so loved. Pinot Noir's home and the classic wines from the grape hail from Burgundy. Pinot is the only grape allowed for AOC wines of the region. It is also essential in Champagne, where it is one of the three main grapes of creating Champagne and sparkling wines in other regions. Pinot Noir mutates easily and so there are many different clones floating around in each wine region.
Notable Facts
Other than Burgundy, Pinot has been successful in areas like
Oregon,
California
and lately, New
Zealand - the Central
Otago region to be exact. Pinot Noir from France gives flavors and aromas
of red fruit, summer pudding and baking spices. As the wine matures - and great
Burgundies are able to do so for years - the flavors become more like the earth
the wine comes from- mushrooms, truffles - and the wine gains tremendous complexity.
Pinot Noir from the new world like Oregon and California typically exude stronger
fruit intensity, some wine able to reach a high level of complexity, structure
and age. Others are wonderful for drinking now with a myriad of foods. Many
may wax poetic about this grape, the reason being that Pinot Noir produces an
amazing contradiction in wine - something so delicate and subtle, yet powerful
and mesmerizing.