Pinot pioneers

29 March 2001
Pinot pioneers

The perfect Pinot is the Holy Grail of the vinous world. This variety's supremely finicky nature makes Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay all look like child's play in comparison. To get the perfect Pinot, all the factors have to be just so. You have to have the right soil types, the right climate and the right amount of sun. Then, once you get the grapes in the winery, you have to get the kid gloves on and treat them with massive amounts of respect.

Get it slightly wrong and all your efforts will be spoilt. Pinot is not the most forgiving of grapes.

So why do wine-makers bother? Because when it's good, it's like nothing else: pure elegance in a bottle, with silky tannins, sumptuous but not overstated fruit, and a knife-edge balance between acidity, fruit and tannin.

Problem is, too often it goes wrong. If the weather is a little too hot, you get a wine that tastes like sweet cherryade. Too cold and you get a reticent, fruitless mouthful of acidity.

Burgundy used to be the only place where Pinot Noir flourished, and then only in good, warm vintages. But when the New World revolution hit town, wine-makers from Christchurch to Santa Maria decided to take on the Pinot challenge.

"Cool climate" was the phrase on everyone's lips as they began to search for new regions and terroirs where this grape would show its best.

Around the globe, producers started planting Pinot and hoped that their patch of terroir would be able to nurture the variety to perfection. So, have they been successful? That's what this tasting set out to decide.

The panel

The tasting took place at the much-lauded Fat Duck restaurant in Bray, Berkshire. The panel was led by Caterer wine editor Fiona Sims and included Heston Blumenthal, chef-proprietor of the Fat Duck; Nigel Sutcliffe, manager and wine buyer at the Fat Duck; John Downes MW; Gearóid Devaney, sommelier at London's Capital hotel; Andy Sparrow, wine and beverage development executive for British Airways; Kate Thal, drinks buyer for the Hartford Group; and freelance food and drink writer Susan Low.

The tasting

The panellists tasted their way through 23 New World Pinot Noirs from Australia (including Tasmania), New Zealand, California, Oregon, Chile and South Africa. We also included a lone sample from England, which proved to be one of the surprise successes of the tasting.

Most were from the 1998 and 1999 vintages, with a lone wine from 2000. There were a few older wines, too, from 1997 and 1993. The wines ranged in price from about £85 to £250 per 12-bottle case, duty paid, excluding VAT. They were tasted blind.

The verdict

Not surprisingly, given Pinot Noir's reputation, this was a tasting with a lot of peaks and troughs. Although four wines were rated "best quality around", there were some lower scores to temper the tasters' enthusiasm.

Generally, wines from New Zealand, California and Australia performed well, with Oregon and Chile less impressive. Tasters found that a major point of difference with Burgundy wines was age-ability. The panel concluded that these were not wines for ageing.

According to Thal, the wines were "pretty variable". "The very best showed nice aromatics, which is a very recent thing with New World Pinots," she said. Thal found that the wines were "better young", with the older ones developing "cooked aromas and flavours". Sparrow also found "a right old mixture". He said: "Some were lean and green, while others were big monsters. When they were good, they were very good, but when they were bad, they were dreadful."

There were other problems, too. Some tasters were put off by the over-reliance on oak to give structure. And Downes found evidence of over-extraction, with some "stalky, bitter flavours". He explained: "It was like they were trying to make a Burgundy style and failing. The best ones were those that weren't trying too hard, but working well with what their countries gave them." Devaney agreed, adding: "There were wines there that were trying to be something that they couldn't achieve."

Although the panel generally agreed on most scores in this tasting, there was one wine that had a split decision - the Au Bon Climat "La Bauge Au-Dessus" 1998 from California's Santa Maria Valley. Some tasters praised its "complex damson and plum aroma" and its "Burgundian style and good structure", but others found it "hot, confected and stewed". Tasting Pinot, it seems, can be as difficult - and as contentious - as making it.

That said, there were some consistently high marks in this tasting. Thal sounded a positive note when she said: "There are signs that the good [wines] are getting better." The best ones had impressive aromas and, where over-extraction wasn't evident, ripe, supple palate structures and plenty of fruit. The wines from New Zealand - Marlborough in particular - shone through, with pure, piercing fruit that was true to its terroir.

As ever, price is a consideration for Pinot Noir, regardless of its provenance. Because of the variety's higher production costs, the top-quality stuff is never going to be cheap. The new breed of New World "cult" Pinots carries some pretty hefty price tags, particularly the ones from California.

Despite the variety's quirks and unpredictability, everyone wants to get their hands on the top names and the wines sell out quickly. Not many of these wines are going to have time to age - gracefully or not - particularly as quality continues to improve.

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