Pinot Noir

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Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir is the most important and oldest of the family of Vitis vinifera. It is early budding, pale coloured, low tannin, low yielding, and grows best on calcareous soils being highly expressive of a vineyard's "terroir". It is genetically relatively unstable producing more clones than any other grape and has mutated to produce many varieties - Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Meunier, Pinot Précose (Fruhburgunder), Gamay, and Aligoté. Pinot Noir is also the father of Chardonnay. Pinot Noir is also known as Pinot Nero in Italy, Spätburgunder in Germany, and Blauburgunder in Austria and Switzerland. It is traditionally associated with the wines of Burgundy. In Champagne it is one of the three major grapes in the Champagne Blend.

As an international grape of renowned quality, Pinot Noir is widespread in many wine growing areas of Europe, and is an important red grape of the Martinborough and Central Otago regions of New Zealand, the Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsula of South Australia, is grown widely in the USA prominently in Oregon and California, and is the preeminent grape of Chile's Casablanca and San Antonio regions.

Pinot Noir reaches the heights of quality in Champagne's Blanc de Noir cuvées such as Krug Clos d'Ambonnay, one of the world's most expensive wines. Cote de Nuits red wines from Burgundy are the most popular and sought after Pinot Noir wines on the planet.

Pinot Noir is very adaptable to the wine-growers art and when handled well can produce rich and perfumed wines of distinction with aromas and flavours that include: violets, raspberry, strawberry, cherry, cranberry, herbs, beetroot, mushrooms, pomegranate, rhubarb, "farmyard" (with age), truffles, and savory.