From bright ruby with glittering red berry flavours to deep crimson glowering with savoury as well as spice, Pinot Noir is an amazingly diverse wine. right here are nine across the spectrum well worth exploring.
Probably one of the most misinterpreted red wine varieties, Pinot Noir likes to run its own race. even to the point where drinking it from two different shaped glasses with modification the taste of the exact same Pinot Noir completely.
We learnt this technique a few years ago.
It made us question exactly how numerous bottles of great Pinot we hadn’t done justice to just from utilizing the wrong stemware.
And it’s not just us hapless consumers that have difficulty with Pinot Noir. As our buddy as well as fantastic wine-maker Lisa McGuigan puts it:
“Pinot Noir is an exceptional performer if you can make it behave, both in the vineyard as well as at the winery.”
But when you can bend this headstrong grape to your will (and you have the best glass of course), you’re rewarded with one of—if not the most tasty multifaceted red wine whose complex flavour profile conceals its medium body.
And if you have the patience as well as willpower, it’ll pay you back numerous times over if you can leave it be for a decade or so.
Beyond its own life, Pinot Noir continues to do fantastic things.
Check out our evaluation of this American single malt whiskey from Westward Distillery has been aged for over two years in ex-Pinot Noir barrels, bringing a whole new depth of flavours to the whiskey.
And these three Australian craft spirits we’ve written about are all feeling the influence of Pinot Noir in a range of method too.
But back to the heart of the matter, right here are nine of our preferred Pinot Noirs you ought to inspect out:
1. Lisa McGuigan Platinum Collection Pinot Noir (2015) – Wrattonbully, SA
On the richer, bolder side of the Pinot Noir line, this red wine shows Lisa’s dexterity as well as skill with such a challenging variety. Rich, silky as well as intense, this is a fantastic example of Pinot’s savoury side.
Grapes were left whole however de-stemmed to ferment for 20 days before pressing as well as maturing in old French oak for nine months. however I get the feeling there’s much more to it than that!
Buy Lisa McGuigan Platinum Collection Pinot Noir here.
2. De Beaurepaire Perceval Pinot Noir (2019) – Rylstone, NSW
Medium bodied with rich cherry, rhubarb, raspberry, strawberry as well as earthiness—as well as hints of vanilla from the oak, this red wine is extremely much in the style of the burgundy you’ll discover in France.
The De Beaurepaire family’s Burgundian heritage as well as the vineyard’s terroir that’s as close central-eastern France as possible, this is precisely their aim. This red wine spends 12 months in French oak, 30% of which is in new barrels.
Buy De Beaurepaire Perceval Pinot Noir here.
3. Holm Oak Pinot Noir Estate grown (2021) – Tamar Valley, TAS
This cool-climate red wine has touches of strawberry as well as lots of dark cherry on the nose that result in even much more cherry as well as complex flavor on the palate. Juicy, silky structures with a beautiful long surface as well as great structure suggest lots of cellaring potential—Bec Duffy, Holm Oak’s owner-winemaker—suggests at least 10 years.
This Pinot is made of de-stemmed estate-grown grapes in the Tamar Valley that are matured in French oak—1/4 in new, 3/4 in one-to-four-year-old casks—for 10 months.
Buy Holm Oak Pinot Noir here.
4. Holm Oak Pinot Noir Protege (2022) – Tamar Valley, TAS
Quite different to Holm Oak’s savoury spicy single vineyard Pinot that we’ve already mentioned, the Protege is made with Pinot Noir’s soft fruit notes in mind. It’s likewise the lightest in body of these wines.
Grapes are fermented with their skins on for 10 days utilizing yeast that purposefully brings out fruit-forward aromatics. The wine’s then matured in tanks so there’s no oak to the red.
The focus of this Pinot is extremely much on being light as well as bright, as well as the ideal daily wine. having stated that, it’s still strong sufficient to stand as much as strong-flavoured food like game meat as well as blue cheese, so it’s no diminishing violet either.
Buy Holm Oak Protege Pinot Noir here.
5. Ghost rock Wines’ Climat Pinot Noir ( 2020) – Cradle Coast, TAS
This organic single-vineyard iteration from a gorgeous bit Tasmanian winery shows exactly how much variety Pinots have. Light floral aromas as well as a remove bright colour show rather the opposite to what lies within this wine.
Impressively intense spice, pepper, tobacco as well as leather leap out at you from the very first sip complied with by a juicy acidity as well as creamy mouthfeel. The surface doesn’t hang around as well long, however that just makes you want to take one more taste.
Grapes for this red wine are grown organically on a little two-hectare block that’s handledvine-to-vine for the very best organic methods as well as to guarantee the grapes are in ideal condition at harvest.
Buy Ghost Rock’s Climat Pinot Noir here.
6. Tamar Ridge Reserve Pinot Noir (2019) – Tamar Valley, TAS
The cooler climates as well as stonier terroir in Tasmania truly do fit Pinot Noir, as well as Tamar Ridge’s Reserve Pinot is a fantastic example of that. Dark berries as well as plums, flavor as well as a savoury structure to the red wine produce a fantastic balance with a beautiful long finish.
This complex red wine isn’t a yearly thing though, with Tamar Ridge only releasing their reserve variety on remarkable vintages, so it’s worth keeping an eye out for these in particular.
Buy Tamar Ridge Pinot Noir Reserve here.
7. Howard Park Flint rock Pinot Noir (2020) – fantastic Southern, WA
From Australia’s most significant red wine region, this Pinot is a fantastic example of the varietal: somehow at the same time delicate as well as robust, with a soft silkiness as well as lots of that signature dark cherry.
Grapes from two separate subregions—Porongurup as well as install Barker, the country’s oldest subregion—bring levels of flavor as well as flint respectively to a red wine that’s really satisfying.
Buy Howard Park Flint rock Pinot Noir here.
8. Petaluma Pinot Noir (2021) – central Otago, NZ
New Zealand in general as well as central Otago in specific is well understood for creating excellent Pinot Noir. This red wine shows vibrancy, dark berry aromas as well as a light cherry lift before a silky smooth mid-palate as well as a fine refreshing tannin finish.
Petaluma selects grapes from a number of remarkable vineyard sites that are fermented in stainless steel, with 25% going into new French oak.
Buy Petaluma Pinot Noir here.
9. Tempus two Pewter variety Pinot Chardonnay (2013) – Adelaide Hills, SA
You may believe this is cheating, however ignoring sparkling red wine would be a mistake. much of the bubbly we drink has at least a touch of Pinot Noir, as well as that aspect has a profound effect on the wine.
Made from premium Pinot Noir as well as Chardonnay grapes from Adelaide Hills that’s aged for 48 months on lees, this sparkling exhibits fresh white peach as well as delicate strawberry aromas together with stylish crisp acidity as well as soft creamy complex finish.
This is a museum release (I struggle with cellaring red wine myself) however it shows just exactly how well Pinot—and Chardonnay for that matter—can age.
If you delighted in this story, you ought to inspect out a few of our other red wine evaluations here.