Pinot Noir

Wine Style:
It is smooth & richer than Cabernet Sauvignon with less tannin.

Flavors:

Origin:
Burgundy in France

Found:
Most of the known wine world. From Oregon, and California in the United States to Australia and New Zealand

This is thin-skinned grapes which are capable of producing some of the world’s most sought after wines with great aging potential. They can also be the most frustrating, and at times infuriating, wine grape in the world. However when it is successful, it can produce some of the most sublime wines known to man.

This thin-skinned grape which grows in small, tight bunches performs well on well-drained, deepish limestone based subsoils as are found on Burgundy’s Côte D’Or. Pinot Noir is more susceptible than other varieties to over cropping - concentration and varietal character disappear rapidly if yields are excessive and yields as little as 25hl/ha are the norm for some climats of the Côte D`Or.

Because of the thinness of the skins, Pinot Noir wines are lighter in colour, body and tannins. However the best wines have grip, complexity and an intensity of fruit seldom found in wine from other grapes. Young Pinot Noir can smell almost sweet, redolent with freshly crushed raspberries, cherries and redcurrants. When mature, the best wines develop a sensuous, silky mouth feel with the fruit flavors deepening and gamey “sous-bois” nuances emerging.

The best examples are still found in Burgundy, although Pinot Noir`s key role in Champagne should not be forgotten. It is grown throughout the world with notable success in the Carneros and Russian River Valley districts of California, and the Martinborough and Central Otago regions of New Zealand.

Further Reading:
Appellation America
Terroir France
Wine Pros
Wine.com
Wikipedia