Ch08 Pinot Noir Flashcards
Pinot Noir grape characteristics
- Fussy, difficult to grow, easy to drink
- Thin skins, light in colour, low to medium tannin
Pinot Noir Climates
- Moderate or cool climates
- Too cool - grape won’t ripen = excessive vegetal (cabbage, wet leaves)
- Hot regions - excessively jammy
Typical flavours of Pinot Noir
Red fruit (Strawberry, raspberry, cherry) and some vegetal (wet leaves, mushroomy, gamey) with age
Ageing Pinot Noir
- Some develop great complexity with age - except for the best from Burgundy and other regions, best when young and fruity
- Common to age in oak - but the toast and vanilla of new oak can overpower the variety’s delicate flavours
Most Pinot Noirs are best consumed:
When they are young
Pinot Noir French Regions
- Bourgogne AC
- Cote de Nuits
• Gevrey-Chambertin
• Nuits-Saint-Georges - Cote de Beaune
• Beaune
• Pommard
Characteristics of Bourgogne AC Pinot Noir
- Medium Body + Light Tannins + Medium to High Acidity
- Balance of Red Fruits + Savoury
Describe Pinot Noir Premier Cru and Grand Crus and give an example
- More intensity, complexity and length especially those from Premier Cru sites within the villages.
- Grand Cru (Le Chambertin) = most powerful, long lived and complex = expensive
Bourgogne Labelling
- Regional (Bourgogne AC)
- Commune/Villages (Beaune, Gevrey-Chambertin, Nuits-Saint-Georges)
- Premier Cru
- Grand Cru
Domaine = producer makes own wine exclusively from grapes grown in his vineyard
German Spatburgunder Regions
Pfalz (south region)
Baden (south region)
Describe German Spatburgunder styles (typical and other)
- Cool climate
- Typically Light body + Perfumed red berry + Light tannin
- Fuller bodied, barrel aged styles also made
New Zealand Pinot Noir Regions
Central Otago
Marlborough
Describe general New Zealand Pinot Noir
More full bodied + Less Acidity + More intense fruits than Burgundy
Spicy + Red Fruit (cherry, strawberry)
Describe New Zealand Pinot Noir styles in Central Otago and Marlborough
Central Otago
- Ripest, most intense
Marlborough
- Lighter style and much of it made into sparkling wine
How is a New Zealand Pinot Noir different than a Burgundian Pinot Noir
It is lower acidity, with more intense fruit and its more full bodied. Spicy notes may go with the red fruit flavours.