Pinot Noir Flashcards
Pinot Noir flavour character profile
Black grape
Thin skin
High acidity
Low/med tannins
Pale/medium colour
Red fruit flavours - strawb, rasp, red cherry (fresh to cooked)
Typically single varietal
Careful oak use (too much overwhelms delicate fresh fruits, older barrels used)
Most for immediate consumption
With age tertiary character of mushroom, forest floor
Pinot Noir climate
Cool/mod climate - fresh fruit flavours lost if too warm
Prone to rot/disease
Important France regions
Burgundy - vineyards are spread out.
Most celebrated are in Côte d’Or
Cote d’Or’s 2 sub regions -
Northern half - Cote de Nuits
Bourgogne AOC
Southern half - Cote de Beaune -
Beaune AOC
Pommard AOC
Burgundy climate
Cool in North and moderate in South.
Pinot Noir best suited to moderate - to reach full ripening.
Best locations - South / SE facing slopes getting extra sunlight
Burgundy (Bourgogne AOC wine profile
Grapes from across Burgundy appellation.
Light/med body w low tannins, high acidity, fresh fruit flavour.
Drunk young. Due to demand even basic wines from here are pricey
Burgundy village appellations means?
Northern half’s apps - Cote de Nuits most famous
Grapes grown and used ONLY from these s small village vineyards.
Gevrey-Chambertain AOC
Nuits-Saint-Georges AOC
Burgundy village appellations -
Southern half - Cote de Beaune most famous
Beaune AOC
Pommard AOC
Level of prestige of Pinot Noir labelling (Bottom to top)
Bourgogne AOC - Regional, covers all of Burgundy)
Village appellations - i.e.
Beaune AOC/Gevrey-Chambertin
More flavour complexity
‘Premier Cru’ -
Will state this, along with village appellation where the vineyards are. Vineyard name may also be stated if grapes only from there
i.e. ‘Clos Saint-Jacques’.
‘Grand Cru’ -
State this for the highest quality for a handful of vineyards. Small well situated plots of land, regularly produce outstanding grape quality. Given own appellation ‘Grand Cru AOC;
USA Pinot Noir
California
Los Carneros
Sonoma
Santa Barba County
Oregon
Chile Pinot Noir
Casablanca Valley, north of Santiago
Moderating effects -
Cooled by sea breeze & morning fogs from the Pacific Ocean
South Africa Pinot Noir
Walker Bay, Western Cape
(SE of Stellenbosch)
Australia Pinot Noir
Yarra Valley & Mornington Peninsula, Victoria.
Cool enough regions from Southern Ocean breeze.
Light & fragrant wines to ripe & cooked fruit flavours.
New Zealand Pinot Noir
Premier black grape variety in NZ.
Suited to the cool climates of Martinborough & Marlborough (North Island)
Central Otago (45 degree lat, South Island) -
quite southerly, makes the ripe /most powerful Pinots.
Region protected from sea breeze by ring of mountains. Vines have intense sunny days & cool nights.
Pinot Noir Today
It is renowned for expressing small changes in a given vineyard into its flavours.
Some in Burgundy can detect variances of vineyards right next to each other.
For everyday consumer, its a refreshing wine, with/without food and drunk young.
Global popularity of Pinot Noir
Large supply and demand issues = the grape being planted in climates too warm > overly alcoholic wine on the market lacking the classic flavours.
Reminder that grape varieties must much their preferred climate
