Winemaker Notes
As one climbs the quality tree at Schneider, one does not get more power or weight but rather an ever- increasing degree of filigree and concentration. This is the sleekest, purest and most finely balanced of the bunch. The top wine in a top vintage, it would hold its own against vastly more expensive wines from Burgundy or the New World. It proves that very often the best value is not to be found with the cheapest wines but, paradoxically, with the most expensive.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
