Pinot noir has a reputation for being a difficult grape, yet it is found in many places around the world. Maybe the grape isn’t so tricky after all if you free yourself from the idea that a pinot noir must taste like a Burgundy. Read on if you want to know what pinot noir wines from around the world taste like, and get to know the basics of growing and drinking this delicious grape. After all, it produces some of the world’s top wines, and they don’t have to be unreasonably expensive.
Pinot noir is the star grape in Burgundy’s red wines and in Champagne. It is grown throughout Europe and in the New World. With its 112,000 hectares, it is the fifth most planted red grape in the world.
That it is grown so much all over the world is a bit surprising. It is not an easy grape to grow and can also be quite tricky to make. Pinot noir is a grape that thrives best in a slightly cooler climate. But many winegrowers are attracted by the elegance of the grape, and by its reputation. And when they succeed, the reward is great.
This is a longer version of an article published on Forbes.com.
This is an article in our series of presentations of the world’s most popular and exciting grape varieties. Read other articles here:
Pinot noir is an old grape variety that was mentioned as early as the 14th century in Burgundy. In the 15th century, the red wines from Burgundy were highly appreciated by the dukes in Dijon and by the French king in Paris. Burgundy still produces the most exclusive pinot noir wines and it is the undisputed “home” of the grape variety.
The character of pinot noir
A wine from pinot noir is usually light in colour, sometimes really light, but it can get darker colour in warmer climates. However, don’t be fooled by the colour. A good pinot noir has intense and complex aromas. It rarely produces powerful wines, especially not in Burgundy and other cool climates. In a red Burgundy, there should always be more elegance than power.
A pinot usually has refreshingly high acidity but low levels of tannins. The aromas are strawberries, raspberries, cherries, violets. Sometimes there’s a hint of spices and coffee, but it often comes from the oak ageing rather than from the grape. Oak is not as much used with pinot noir as with e.g. cabernet sauvignon, but more ambitious examples are often aged for some time in oak barrels. With age, the wine can acquire a seductive character of forest floor and autumn leaves and a velvety finish.
Even if one of the grape’s hallmarks is the light style, one should not exaggerate this. There can be a lot of intensity and power in the aromas of good pinots, but they are rarely dense or tannic.
Less successful pinot noir wines, from Burgundy or elsewhere, can be too thin and too acidic, with a dry and hard finish. Ripeness of the fruit can be a problem.
Pinot noir in the vineyard
Pinot noir has naturally low yields, but some growers want it even lower to increase the concentration of the fruit and aromas. In Burgundy, yields are around 45 hectolitres per hectare. As opposed to cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir is considered a grape that does not tolerate high yields, it least if your aim is a quality wine. A Central Otago grower told us that his yield for pinot noir is 5,000 kilos per hectare (which would be around 35 hl/ha), while those who make sauvignon blanc picks 12,000 kg per hectare(around 80 hl/ha). No wonder pinot noir usually is a relatively expensive wine.
In warmer climates pinot noir tends to change its character. The grapes ripen more quickly. With more sugar in the grape, the wine will be richer in alcohol. But still with comparatively low levels of tannin. For some people, this fuller-bodied style means a pinot noir with less quality. But there are many examples of excellent warm-climate pinot noir. They may not taste like Burgundy, but why should they, if it is made in a totally different place, maybe on the other side of the globe?
Pinot noir buds early. In cool regions, such as Champagne and Burgundy, this means that it can be hit by devastating spring frost. On the other hand, it copes well with harsh winters. It ripens early, which is an advantage as it can be picked before the autumn rains. It has small, dense bunches and the grapes have a fairly thin skin. This makes it easier for the undesirable grey rot to attack if it is a humid season. It is also sensitive to other fungal diseases, so, preferably, the canopy should be kept airy to allow the wind to circulate to dry the grapes.
Pinot noir has been around for a long time so it has generated many clones through natural genetic mutations. France has approved 43 clones of pinot noir, but several hundred exist. It is essential to choose the right clone. The producers usually plant several different clones, not just one. This is considered to give added complexity. Some prioritise clones with thicker skins to help the grapes withstand fungus attacks.
Pinot noir in the cellar
What the winegrower does in the wine cellar, before, during and after the fermentation, can greatly impact the wine. If you do a gentle extraction and ferment at around 25 degrees C, you will get a light, elegant wine. Other producers want to extract as much colour and aromas as possible from pinot noir. They do this with extended skin contact, sometimes both before and after fermentation. They ferment at a warm temperature, up to 32-33 degrees C. This gives a full-bodied, even powerful wine. Too powerful for those who think that you should be able to read the newspaper through a glass of pinot noir. Some do frequent punch-downs to enhance the extraction. Some do partial of full whole-bunch fermentation, which can add a bit of tannin from the stems.
Expensive pinot noir is often aged in oak barrels. Well-structured wines can handle the oak, but it is essential to be careful so that the oak does not entirely overtake the naturally delicate red fruit aromas.
Pinot noir is very rarely blended with other grapes, except for sparkling wines. There is, however, a wine in Burgundy called passe-tout-grains where pinot noir is blended with gamay, the Beaujolais grape.
France
Pinot noir is grown on around 10,500 hectares throughout Burgundy. In the Côte d’Or, it covers 73% of the surface, and almost the entire surface of the Côte de Nuit. The red wines from the Côte d’Or are today some of France’s most expensive wines. Among the most prestigious are the (extraordinarily expensive) Grand Cru wines from the Domaine de la Romanée Conti (DRC).
Perhaps surprisingly, there is more pinot noir in Champagne than in Burgundy, over 13,000 hectares. The grape dominates the Montagne de Reims and the Côte des Bar, the southern-most part of Champagne that is not far from Burgundy. Pinot noir is often blended with the other champagne grapes, chardonnay and pinot meunier, but sometimes it gets to shine on its own in a blanc de noir. A pinot noir champagne is rich, with a dense structure, more full-bodied and often more intense than a blanc-de-blanc.
Pinot noir is also the grape in red Sancerre and red Alsace wines. These wines are light in style and often very light in colour. Some producers are now putting more effort into their red wines, and today there are delicious examples from these regions. However, you have to appreciate the light style of red wines. These are red wines that can even be lighter in style than some of the more powerful rosés. They often cost a bit too much.
Pinot noir is also found in some IGP wines in the Languedoc. You can also find some really interesting examples of pinot noir from e.g. Limoux in the Languedoc, one of the cooler parts of this southern French region.
USA
In the USA, the pinot noir plantations have increased spectacularly. The grape is now the third most cultivated grape in the country with 25,000 hectares. California has the majority, 18,300 hectares, and makes some fantastic wines from the grape. But it is the state of Oregon, north of California, that has received the most attention for its pinot noir in recent years.
The first pinot noir vines in Oregon were planted in 1965 in the Willamette Valley. This region is still the epicentre of pinot noir in Oregon. The region has 6,700 hectares of Oregon’s 7,400 hectares of pinot noir.
Germany
Pinot noir is found on 12,000 hectares of Germany’s total of 103,000 hectares. It is the most planted red grape in the country. Here, they call it spätburgunder. Germany is the third-largest producer of pinot noir in the world, after France and the United States. For a country that most people associate with white wines, there is quite a lot of red wine in Germany. This is one of the most significant changes in the country over the past 25 years. Of the total surface, 34% is now planted with red grapes. Pinot noir produces surprisingly full-bodied and flavourful wines in Ahr, Rheinhessen, Rheingau and several other regions.
New Zealand
Pinot noir is New Zealand’s most planted red grape. Of the country’s 39,000 hectares, 30,000 hectares are white grapes. Of the 9,000 hectares of red grapes, pinot noir covers 5,700 hectares. Pinot noir is grown in several regions of the country, but the most famous ones come from Central Otago on the South Island. The Frenchman Ferraud, who came here in 1863 to dig for gold, also planted vines that are believed to have been pinot noir because he called his wine “Burgundy”.
The increase in pinot noir plantings in Central Otago has been dramatic. It is one of the recent great success-stories of New Zealand wine. In 1990 the grape accounted for 22% of the surface in Central Otago and 20 years later, 78%. The styles vary, mainly depending on the producer. Some of the wines are superb. They can be full-bodied or more refined.
Read more or watch our interview with one of the pioneers of Central Otago, Blair Walter at Felton Road.
The smaller Wairarapa region on the North Island also makes exceptional pinot noir wines.
Chile
Pinot noir is increasing in Chile. In cooler regions such as Casablanca, San Antonio and Bío Bío we now have some excellent pinot noir. Warm days followed by cool nights in, e.g. Casablanca, give fine acidity and freshness.
Other countries
Switzerland, especially in the Valais region, makes excellent pinot noir. Tasmania has a cool climate and makes first-class pinot noir.
Pinot noir is a popular grape that continues to grow in appreciation and plantings in many parts of the world.
Pinot noir facts
Total worldwide surface: 115,000 hectares
Main countries:
- France 32,000 ha
- USA 25,000 ha
- Germany 12,000 ha
- New Zealand 5,700 ha
- Australia 5,000 ha
Character:
Light in colour, elegance and finesse, aromas of red berries such as raspberries, strawberries, cherries. High acidity, low tannin level. Sometimes autumn leaves and mushrooms. Species and coffee if oak-aged.
Don’t miss the other articles in our grape variety profile series. You can find the list at the beginning of the article.
Travel
There is a wide variety of pinot noir styles. One of the best ways to understand it all is to travel to one of the regions where it is grown. You can, for example, join us at BKWine on a wine tour to New Zealand that will include exploring the Central Otago pinot noir wines. Or if you prefer, immerse yourself in champagne, including a fair bit of pinot, on our Champagne wine tour.
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