Mr C Wine Chat
This week the wine chat is all about the unique red wine grape called Pinot Noir. Although South Africa is in an alcohol prohibition lockdown, the talk might inspire your next bottle of red when it all opens up again.
Pinot noir
Pinot noir is a red wine grape variety famously grown in Burgundy. Pinot is pine in french, and noir is black in french. The word pine signifies the grape variety having clustered, cone-shaped pine bunches of grapes.
Pinot Noir, one of the most ancient grape varieties globally, is thought to have existed in Burgundy before the arrival of the Romans. The grape produces Red Burgundy wine, some of the most celebrated and costly wines in the world.
Notable regions
Burgundy, Oregon, Champagne wine region, New Zealand, South Africa and more
Origin
France
Taste of Pinot Noir
The sweetness of Pinot Noir wine is dry
The wine colour is Red Wine. Pinot noir is more acidic than other red wines with lower tannins, making Pinot Noir smooth and easy to drink.
Flavours
You can taste cherry, strawberry, raspberry, cranberry, game, mushroom, leather and toast, depending on the wine, country and region of origin.
The Characteristics of Pinot Noir
Pinot noir is a complex variety to cultivate and transform into wine. The grape's tendency to produce tightly packed clusters makes it susceptible to several hazards, including rot that require active management of the vines.
The thin skins and low phenolic quality makes Pinot Noir a lightly coloured, medium-bodied and low-tannin wine. Young Pinot Noir tend to have red fruit aromas of cherries, raspberries, and strawberries. Aged Pinot Noir can develop complex barnyard aromas.
The leaves of Pinot noir are generally smaller than those of Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah. The vine is typically less vigorous than Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, making it difficult to make. Pinot Noir is susceptible to fermentation methods and highly reflective of its terroir, with different regions producing very different wines.
The thin skin makes the grapes susceptible to bunch rot and fungal diseases. These complications have given the grape a reputation for being difficult to grow. The grapes are much less tolerant to harsh vineyard conditions than Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot or Pinotage.
A Burgundy Pinot Noir
You can describe the wine as perfumed and romantic, and popular. Wine writers often describe Pinot Noir as "sex in a glass".
These wines offer a range of flavours and textures unique to each region. It is a medium body wine with black and red cherry and farmyard aromas.
In addition to being used to produce sparkling and red wine, Pinot noir is also sometimes used for rosé wines, Beaujolais nouveau-styled wines, and even Vin Gris white wines.
Pinot Noir is one of the most captivating and complex wines, and many winemakers who grow the low-cropping and challenging variety find it infuriating but extremely rewarding.
Burgundy is home to the world's best Pinot Noirs. The region's cool climate and limestone-based soils are ideally suited to the production of Pinot Noir. The best Burgundy wines have complexity with red fruits such as raspberries and cherries, and the wine often develops savoury notes of wild mushroom and cured meats as they age.
Many New World regions also produce quality Pinots. South Africa's finest bottlings tend to be made in cooler climate regions like Hemel en Aarde and Elgin.
Pinot Noir Champagne
Pinot Noir is also essential in the production of Champagne and sparkling wines. It can be bottled alone as Blanc de Noirs and blends well with Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier.
The history of Pinot Noir
Pinot noir has been growing in Burgundy, France, since the First Century. The wines fame originates from the Cistercian monks of Burgundy. They planted vineyards everywhere they built monasteries during the Middle Ages. Over hundreds of vintages, these monks took detailed production records in which they also noted the areas where these vines flourished. The monks archived the harvest reports showing how a variety reflects the region and terroir it grows in.
Pinot Noir Production in South Africa
Professor Abraham Izak Perold imported the Swiss BK5 Pinot Noir clone around the 1920s, and Muratie in Stellenbosch became the first farm to plant the variety in 1927. The variety struggled to take off in Stellenbosch due to the heat and focus on volume instead of quality.
In the mid-1970s, Tim Hamilton Russel of Hamilton Russel Wines in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley played a significant role in unlocking the true potential of Pinot Noir in South Africa. He decided to produce the variety despite the quota system and the available clone to make sparking and not table wine. The winemaker, Peter Finlayson, and Tim Hamilton Russel proved that the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley is ideal for Pinot Noir production.
New Dijon clones, better suited for fine table wines, became available in South Africa around the 1990s. Together with the shift to producing quality wines, these new clones resulted in many new regions producing the variety, including Elgin, Doring Bay and Franschoek.
Prof Perold crossed Pinot noir with Cinsaut to produce the genuinely South African variety, Pinotage.
The area under Pinot noir in South Africa has grown. Pinot Noir thrives in all the production regions. The most significant area under these vines is the Cape South Coast, followed by Stellenbosch, Robertson and Paarl. The variety thrives in areas where the soils are rich in lime. The yields are low to enhance the quality of the Pinots produced.
Berries and Leaves
The berries are small, slightly oval, with colours ranging from violet-blue to purple and black. The skin is thin and challenging.
Pests and Diseases
The variety is prone to sunburn, viruses, fungal diseases and rot. Early Ripening makes Pinot Noir vulnerable to bird damage.
Pinot noir in South Africa is a single varietal wine used to produce sparkling, premium quality single varietal still wines. It also blends well with various other varieties, of which Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier are popular choices.
The production area influences the taste of a Pinot Noir wine, including the conditions, region, winemaker and wine production process.
Pinot Noir winemaking in South Africa
During its production, the most common method includes whole-berry maceration. The process is part of Pinot Noir winemaking. Whole cluster fermentation is when the entire grape bunch, including the stems, goes into the crusher and fermenter. The process adds tannin and allows longevity in the wine made to cellar for ten years or more.
The Four Different Types of Pinot Noir
Pinot noir can make four different types of wines. A winemaker can make Red Pinot Noir, Rosé Pinot Noir, White Pinot Noir, and Sparkling Pinot Noir. Pinot noir also blends into blended wine, such as Champagne and blended Rosé wines.
Common Characteristics of the Pinot Noir Grape
- Pinot Noir grows best in dry climates with cool nights and warm days in chalky soil or clay.
- Pinot noir grapes have a short growing season. It can be one hundred days, compared with up to eight months for other varietals.
- Pinot noir grapes are thin-skinned and more susceptible to disease, making Pinot a delicate wine to produce.
What do you taste in Pinot Noir?
Descriptions of pinot noir include:
- Fruits such as strawberry, cherry, raspberry, and blackberry
- Earthy elements such as mushroom and leather
- Spicy notes such as cinnamon, clove, and tobacco
5 Tips for Serving Pinot Noir like a Pro
The perfect Temperature for a Pinot Noir wine is about 15-degree celsius. You don't need to decant a Pinot Noir wine. Drink your Pinot Noir from a large, bell-shaped glass to best enjoy its perfumed nose and aromas. It is best to finish your bottle of Pinot Noir within a day of opening the wine. A Pinot Noir can age comfortably up to eight or ten years, depending on the wine.
Pinot Noir Food Pairings
How to Pair Pinot Noir With Food
Pinot noir is a versatile wine grape that pairs perfectly with food. Pinot Noir has high acidity and low tannin content that pair well with grilled fish and is complex enough to pair with roast chicken or beef stew.
Great pairings for pinot noir include:
- Charcuterie, ham, and cold meats
- Soft, nutty cheeses, such as Gruyere, brie, or goat cheese.
- Patés and terrines
- Grilled asparagus
- Spring vegetables like peas
- Gamey meats, like lamb or venison
- Roasted meats, like turkey, ham, or goose.
Pinot Noir Snack Pairings
A snack plate with crackers, goat cheese and salami is perfect for enjoying Pinot Noir with a glass of Pinot Noir.
Pair snacks that are not too salty.
Light and fresh Pinot Noir pair well with cold meats, pates and dishes with creamy sauces. Fruity Pinot Noirs complement dishes with a touch of spice like quail pulled pork and Seared Salmon or tuna. Elegant Pinots pair with roast chicken, rack of lamb and a rare fillet steak or wild mushroom risotto. Full-bodies Pinot pair perfectly with lamb, chargrilled steak, venison, duck, glazed ham or roast turkey. Aged Pinot Noirs pair with fuller flavoured dishes like game meat, game pies and truffle dishes. Barbecue flavours also complement Pinot Noir wine.
More Traditional Pinot Noir Matches
Classic dishes to pair with Pinot Noir are duck, rabbit, quail, game meat, mushrooms, truffles, and beautifully cooked beef.
Pinot Noir and Cheese
Pinot Noir pair well with nutty medium-firm cheeses that are not too intense.
The best Pairing with Pinot is Gruyere.
The red berry fruits of a Pinot Noir is the perfect match for the nutty flavours you taste in a medium-firm cheese like Gruyere. You can enjoy the right amount of aroma and complexity without running the risk of one overpowering the other.
Pinot Noir also pairs well with a wide range of cheeses, from goats cheese to tangy blue cheese. Pair your next glass of Pinot Noir with Comte, Swiss Gruyere, smokey blue cheese, mature gouda and hard cheeses with brown butter and nutty flavours.
The Top 25 South African Pinot Noir wines right now to buy.
1
Paul Cluver Seven Flags Pinot Noir 2017
Elgin · South Africa
Average price R 780.00
This wine is available from online merchants
2
Tesselaarsdal Pinot Noir 2019
Hemel-en-Aarde Valley · South Africa
Average price R 515.00
This wine is available from online merchants
3
Bouchard Finlayson Tete de Cuvée Pinot Noir 2019 Walker Bay · South Africa
Average price R 1,103.00
This wine is available from online merchants
4
Iona Kroon Limited Release Monopole Pinot Noir 2017 Western Cape · South Africa
Average price
5
Bouchard Finlayson Galpin Peak Pinot Noir 2018 Hemel-en-Aarde Valley · South Africa
Average price R 411.00
This wine is available from online merchants
6
Kershaw Pinot Noir (Clonal Selection) 2017
Elgin · South Africa
Average price R 609.00
This wine is available from online merchants
7
Restless River Le Luc 2017
Hemel-en-Aarde Valley · South Africa
Average price R 420.00
This wine is available from online merchants
8
Storm Vrede Pinot Noir 2018
Hemel-en-Aarde Valley · South Africa
Average price
9
Saurwein Nom Pinot Noir 2019
Western Cape · South Africa
Average price R 502.00
This wine is available from online merchants
10
Hamilton Russell Vineyards Pinot Noir 2019
Hemel-en-Aarde Valley · South Africa
Average price R 610.00
This wine is available from online merchants
11
Crystallum Bona Fide Pinot Noir 2018
Hemel-en-Aarde Valley · South Africa
Average price R 750.00
This wine is available from online merchants
12
Crystallum Mabalel Pinot Noir 2019
Overberg · South Africa
Average price
13
Oak Valley Groenlandberg Pinot Noir 2019
Elgin · South Africa
Average price R 389.00
This wine is available from online merchants
14
Moya's Vineyards Pinot Noir 2015
Hemel-en-Aarde Valley · South Africa
Average price
15
Elgin Vintners Pinot Noir 2020
Elgin · South Africa
Average price R 234.00
This wine is available from online merchants
16
Hazendal Pinot Noir 2017
Stellenbosch · South Africa
Average price R 487.00
This wine is available from online merchants
17
Whalehaven Pinot Noir 2018
Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge · South Africa
Average price R 1,170.00
This wine is available from online merchants
18
Vriesenhof Pinot Noir 2018
Stellenbosch · South Africa
Average price R 349.00
This wine is available from online merchants
19
Lothian Vineyards Vineyard Selection Pinot Noir 2018 Elgin · South Africa
Average price R 330.00
This wine is available from online merchants
20
Moya Meaker Pinot Noir 2018
Elgin · South Africa
Average price R 250.00
This wine is available from online merchants
21
Storm Ignis Pinot Noir 2018
Hemel-en-Aarde Valley · South Africa
Average price
22
Saurwein Om Pinot Noir 2019
Western Cape · South Africa
Average price R 460.00
This wine is available from online merchants
23
Storm Ridge Pinot noir 2018
Hemel-en-Aarde Valley · South Africa
Average price —
24
Haute Cabrière Pinot Noir Réserve 2017
Franschhoek · South Africa
Average price R 280.00
This wine is available from online merchants
25
Meerlust Pinot Noir 2018
Stellenbosch · South Africa
Average price R 346.00
If you enjoy a fruity, enchanting fragrant wine with a long smooth finish, Pinot Noir is an excellent wine to buy. Plan delicious pairings to complement your Pinot Noir. Pinot Noir is more than a glass of wine. A sip of seduction with a velvety smooth texture and taste experience leaves perfumed spice to savour with every drop you taste.
Contact
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E-mail: info@misterc.co.za