What's Going On in the World of French Wines

There are few grapes that are as complex and fascinating as Pinot Noir. I’ve often heard it said that there are very few winemakers out there who don’t consider it the Holy Grail of winemaking – making good Pinot Noir is a challenge. Unlike Chardonnay, Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir doesn’t seem to accept mediocrity well. It is a grape that is very demanding – some even call it the “Heartbreak Grape.”

What makes Pinot Noir so finicky? Well, for starters, it is a bit of a temperature sensitive grape. It prefers cooler climates and it tends to like limestone soils – two reasons why it does so well in Burgundy. It is also a thin skinned grape which can make it susceptible to some of the diseases and viruses that can affect grapevines. The thinner skin of Pinot Noir is part of why the color of many wines made with Pinot Noir are lighter than wines made with grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot. The paler color isn’t a sign of inferior quality – it more has to do with the fact that there is less pigment to be extracted from Pinot Noir grapes.

Pinot Noir has a pretty interesting history. It is an extremely old grape – one that we think dates back to the 1st or 2nd century AD. There are some indications that it was grown in Burgundy by the 4th century AD and we do have 14th century records from Burgundy that mention a vine called Pinot. Due to its advanced age, Pinot Noir is prone to mutating – since it has been around for so long, vines of Pinot Noir with variations have developed. That’s how we have gotten Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and Pinot Meunier to name a few. Pinot Noir is also (and we know this through DNA analysis of Pinot) one of the parents of Chardonnay.

So what are the characteristics of Pinot? The color can range from a very pale to moderately intense cherry red and it tends to become garnet in color as it ages. Notes you might find on the nose range from herbal and spicy aromas to fruity aromas of strawberries, red cherries, and black cherries. You can also find hints of violets, black pepper, beets, prunes and plums. Pinot Noir can sometimes have a nose that can smell earthy, gamey, mushroomy or even like a barnyard. I tend to find that Pinot Noir grown in climates that are too warm makes for wines that smell like tomato plants (have you ever smelled your hands after handling a tomato plant? It is a very specific smell that is hard to describe). It is almost an under-ripe and over-ripe aroma that makes me think that the heat didn’t give the grapes the time they needed to ripen (Pinot likes a long growing season).

On the palate, Pinot Noir tends to be described using very sensual language. The body can range from light to full and the tannins are frequently described as being fairly firm, but silky and velvety textured. Acidity is usually fairly high with moderate to moderately high alcohol levels and Pinot Noir is usually very ageworthy. Besides being the main grape of Burgundy (just about all red Burgundy is made from Pinot Noir), you will find Pinot grown in Champagne, the Loire Valley, Alsace, Germany, Oregon, California, New York, Italy, New Zealand, Australia and Canada to name just a few.

If you are looking to sample a few Pinot Noirs, there are several on my top picks to choose from including: Burgundy Hills Pinot Noir, Chamarré Grande Réserve Pinot Noir, Domaine Faiveley Bourgogne Rouge, Fat Bastard Pinot Noir Vin de Pays d’Oc and Maison Joseph Drouhin Laforet Pinot Noir. To taste it in sparkling form, look for Lucien Albrecht’s Crémant d’Alsace Brut Rosé, Moet & Chandon’s White Star and Taittinger’s Brut La Française.