PINOT Noir is a difficult grape variety to get right. But when it is handled correctly, both in the vineyard and winery, it is capable of providing the finest entertainment in the world of wine. Understanding pinot noir can be tricky as the grape has a number of masquerades, which is driven by the region, soils and the hand of the winemaker.
Pinot Noir loves a cool to warm climate. But the conditions must be warm enough to get the grapes fully ripened, otherwise it has a habit of producing thin and herbaceous wines that lack colour. The one exception to this is if the grapes are made into sparkling wine. Champagne produces glorious sparkling wines from pinot noir. Occasionally they make table wines in the region and if you have ever tried them, you will see they don’t make the best drinking wines. Cool climate wine regions often experience more vintage variation, which can keep consumers on their toes.
Yields are usually kept low so as to concentrate the flavours in the bunches. It can be compared to riesling as it reflects the soils in which it is grown. In Burgundy it is planted on a gentle limestone escarpment. Mid-slope vineyards produce the most concentrated wines, they capture the sun, have the best top-soils and good drainage. Volcanic soils are also prized. Pinot Noir from these soils have more depth and intensity. Igneous soils are more common in Australia than you would think, Pipers River in Tasmania for instance has basalt, as does the Macedon Ranges. Curly Flat outside Lancefield produce a single bottling off their red basalt soils and my tasting notes reflect the soil, “black fruit, brambly muscular wine with powerful tannins (for a pinot). It had a savoury driven palate and equally long finish”. At Paringa Estate on the Mornington Peninsula they have Ferrasol soils which is a clay and basalt mixture and produce similar concentrated wines. Dolerite is similar to basalt and is found on the east coast of Tasmania.
Dr Rocco Longo, from the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture, at the University of Tasmania has conducted research into regional expressions of Australian pinot noir. In his project, which was summarised in the Wine & Viticulture Journal (2021), his team analysed pinot noir for Adelaide Hills, Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula and Tasmania. The team discovered there were three ethyl esters, namely ethyl decanoate, 2-methylbutanoate and ethyl 2-methylproponoate as well as decanoic acid that made up regional expressions of pinot noir. Sounds double Dutch to me. Thankfully Dr Longo explains that ethyl decanoate contributes to the aromas of black cherry, jam and smoke and this, along with decanoic acid, is found in Yarra Valley wines. I’m intrigued with decanoic acid as it adds ‘complexity’ to a wine, which is what we want in a good pinot, correct? They found that Northern Tasmania produced more concentrations of ethyl 2-methylproponoate which produces sweet fruit and apple aromas. They also looked at appearance and found that Adelaide Hills wines develop quicker, picking up a brick red hue compared to other regions. Mornington Peninsula was noted as having the least anthocyanins, which would mean that they appear the lightest in colour.
Clones are another determining factor in the character of a pinot. The clone MV6 is the most commonly planted one in Australia and provides structure to a wine. 114 is aromatic and fruity whilst 115 is more like MV6 with spice and good tannin structure. Bernard Clone 777 has darker fruits and a velvet structure suited for aging. The Abel clone has a quirky history being first imported illegally into New Zealand in a gumboot in the mid 1970’s. It was confiscated by Malcolm Abel, a customs officer who sent it to the NZ quarantine centre and once cleared he then planted it in his vineyard in West Auckland. Cuttings from there were then planted by Clive Paton at Ata Rangi in Martinborough in 1980 and this is now the mother block, as the West Auckland vineyard was a victim of urban sprawl. The clone is believed to have originated from one of best vineyards in Burgundy. It displays black cherries and higher acidity. Out of the relatively new French ENTRA-INTRA® clones, 943 seems promising. In a paper presented by viticulturalist Nick Dry in 2019 he described it as having a “vibrant nose” and a front and middle palate displaying “great flavour and complexity”.
Using tasting notes done at the KPMG Sydney Royal Wine Show the most common aroma by far used to describe pinot noir are red fruits and cherries. Spice and stalky are followed by herbaceous, black fruits, strawberry, mint and floral. Pinot Noir, in general, should be elegant, with light to medium tannin structure and good acidity. The best pinots have a silky quality and leave a powerful impression on the palate. Herbaceous and stalky characters are derived from the winemaker choosing to use whole bunch fermentation techniques to give more structure to the wine. Other producers, like Sandra de Pury at Yeringberg in the Yarra Valley, totally destems her fruit and follows a traditional hand plunged fermentation in old milk vats.
Aged pinot noir can be a revelation, but it is hard to pick what will march-on after the primary fruit fades. The best ones develop aromas and flavours of cured meats, such as salami, barnyard and undergrowth aromas. The latter, in French, is delightfully called sous bois and covers aromas such as forest floor, mushrooms and truffle.
Pinot Noir is the fourth most crushed grape variety in Australia, behind shiraz, cabernet sauvignon and merlot. Some data claims that it is the most drunk red wine in restaurants and if this is true it is a great sign that Australians are acknowledging that pinot noir is a better food wine than other grape varieties. Alternatively, it is simply proof that the variety is a great solo performer.