Pinot Noir, a red-wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera, is known for producing wines that are silky, bursting with red fruit flavor, and with notes of forest floor. The name Pinot noir is derived from the French words for pine and black. This grape is grown around the world, mostly in cooler climates, and is chiefly associated with the Burgundy region of France. Explore how this beautifully delicate grape expresses itself in vastly different terroirs - from Burgundy to South Africa to California.
Pinot Noir grapes
The Global Presence of Pinot Noir
Pinot noir is now used to make red wines around the world, as well as Champagne, and sparkling white wines such as the Italian Franciacorta, along with English sparkling wines. Regions that have gained a reputation for red Pinot noir wines include:
- The Willamette Valley of Oregon
- Carneros in Napa and Sonoma, Central Coast, Sonoma Coast, and Russian River AVAs of California
- The Elgin and Walker Bay wine regions of South Africa
- The Mornington Peninsula, Adelaide Hills, Great Southern, Tasmania, and Yarra Valley in Australia
- The Central Otago, Martinborough, and Marlborough wine regions of New Zealand
It is also planted in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, northern parts of Croatia, Czech Republic, England, the Republic of Georgia, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Hungary, Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Moldova, New Zealand, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Switzerland, Ukraine, United States, and Uruguay.
Oregon vs Burgundy Pinot Noir
Characteristics of Pinot Noir
The thin skins and low levels of phenolic compounds lend pinot to producing mostly lightly colored, medium-bodied and low-tannin wines that can often go through phases of uneven and unpredictable aging. When young, wines made from Pinot noir tend to have red fruit aromas of cherries, raspberries, and strawberries. Joel L. stated that the tremendously broad range of bouquets, flavors, textures, and impressions that Pinot noir can produce sometimes confuses tasters. Broadly, the wines tend to be of light to medium body with an aroma reminiscent of black and/or red cherry, raspberry and to a lesser extent currant and many other fine small red and black berry fruits. The wine's color, when young, is often compared to that of garnet, frequently being much lighter than that of other red wines.
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This is entirely natural and not a winemaking fault, as Pinot noir has a lower skin anthocyanin (coloring matter) content than most other classical red/black varieties. In addition to being used for the production of sparkling and still red wine, Pinot noir is also sometimes used for rosé still wines, Beaujolais Nouveau-style wines, and even vin gris white wines.
Viticultural and Winemaking Sensitivities
In the vineyard, Pinot noir is sensitive to wind and frost, cropping levels (it must be low yielding for the production of quality wines), soil types, and pruning techniques. In the winery, it is sensitive to fermentation methods and yeast strains and is highly reflective of its terroir, with different regions producing very different wines. Its thin skin makes it susceptible to bunch rot and similar fungal diseases. The vines themselves are susceptible to powdery mildew, especially in Burgundy infection by leaf roll, and fanleaf viruses cause significant vine health problems.
Pinot Noir characteristics
Pinot Noir in South Africa
Whether South Africa can produce good Pinot is a very longstanding debate. The father of South African viticulture, A.I. Perold, believed that Pinot had a future at the Cape and experimented with a notoriously fickle grape in different locations in the 1920s. But this was before grapes were being grown in the cool-climate zones. After Perold, the view took hold that Pinot was simply unsuited to the Cape’s climatic conditions. And then along came Tim Hamilton-Russell in the 1980s and proved everyone wrong by producing Pinot in a Burgundian style in the Hemel-en-Aarde valley.
There is now quite a lot of Pinot being produced in South Africa - mostly up the West Coast and the East Coast in the cool climate zones already alluded to, but also around Stellenbosch. South African pinot noir often shows a very good expression of the grape variety with clean and elegant fruit and little or just a touch of oak ageing character, elegant, clean-cut wines. Delicious drinking when one wants fresh red fruit and not too much tannins.
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Key Regions in South Africa
- Hemel-en-Aarde: Located in Walker Bay, this region has gained recognition for producing Pinot Noir with clean, elegant fruit expressions.
- Walker Bay: The cooler south coast provides ideal conditions for Pinot Noir, resulting in wines with fresh red fruit and balanced tannins.
- Stellenbosch: Pinot Noir is also cultivated around Stellenbosch, contributing to the diversity of South African Pinot Noir styles.
Here are some of the wines we particularly liked at the Michelangelo Awards:
- Galpin Peak Pinot Noir 2020, Bouchard Finlayson
- Ghost Corner Pinot Noir 2020, Cederberg Winery
- Chamonix Pinot Noir Feldspar 2020, Chamonix wine estate
- Leopard`s Leap Culinaria Pinot Noir 2020
- PF Pinot Noir 2019, Peter Falke Wines
- Pinot Noir 2021, That Wine Demesne
Here’s a review of some of the styles that you can expect from South Africa and some great wines to look for from the Michelangelo tasting.
The Positive Side of Pinot Noir
The positive side of all this is that Pinot Noir is a very transparent grape. It really can communicate the difference in terroir, or grape-growing environment, between adjacent plots of vineyard. The greatest Pinot Noir is the greatest red burgundy, without any shadow of a doubt.
Pinotage: South Africa's Unique Cross
Pinotage is a grape cross between Cinsault and Pinot Noir. It was first crossed in South Africa in 1925 in the gardens of scientist Abraham Perold. Perold observed how Pinot Noir struggled in South Africa’s warm climate, so he crossed it with a very productive species: Cinsault (aka Hermitage). The result of the crossing between Cinsault and Pinot Noir was unexpected. The Pinotage grapes were extremely dark in color, and the wine they created was bold and high in tannin and anthocyanin - nothing like its progenitors. Despite the difference in flavor, Pinotage could soak up the South African sun and produce large numbers of grapes, which farmers desired.
| Grape Variety | Origin | Typical Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| Pinot Noir | Burgundy, France | Silky, red fruit flavors, forest floor notes, light to medium body |
| Pinotage | South Africa | Bold, high tannin, dark fruit flavors, often with earthy and smoky tones |
Through careful vineyard management and winemaking techniques, South Africa continues to refine its approach to Pinot Noir, producing wines that capture the elegance and complexity of this challenging grape.
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