After Bordeaux wines and some part of Italian wines, it’s about the Burgundy wine that we gonna destiny our story.

Le pinot Noir

Before everything it seems important to describe this grape variety that is very unique.

It is well known in the wine world. Many regions with different biomes domesticated it and cultivated it since a bunch of years. Notably, we find it in Germany, in Swiss, in Africa and New-Zealand…

It is important to precise that the Pinot we going to talk about is the one which comes from the Burgundy’s terroir. Kay knows the wines productions in that area very well.

This endemic varietal of Burgundy region and Champagne is a true masterpiece when it is well worked. Anyway, it does not please everyone. André Tchelistcheff, (very famous wine maker post prohibition) from Nappa Valley declared « God made the Cabernet Sauvignon while the devil made the Pinot Noir ». On our side, we think that its incredible freshness and its delicate tannins need a great open-mindedness to be understood.

It’s a hard to work grape variety. It is fragile and illness sensitive. Raisin’s skins are thin and the low content of phenolic compounds, allows Pinot to produce wines mostly lightly colored, mediumly strong and low in tannins.
Globally, these wines are pretty subtle. We left completely the full bodied and flavorful Bordeaux’s registre and we enter in a world where the wine is elaborated by craftsmanship with the manner of jewelers.

The wine’s delicatesse needs to had prealably an experienced palate. It’s not evident to seize the essences of theses wines that are often very fine.

The Pinot Noir produces mostly round wines, with fine and silky tannins but present, at least. They soften more with time. According the vintages, the acidity will be more or less marked, but generally the Pinot offers a lot of freshness even the hotter years.

In function of the appellation degree (A.O.P. / A.O.C. for example) the final note and the aromatic richness will be more or less long and complex. When it is young the wine based on Pinot Noir has a tendance to have red fruit aromas (black and red cherries, raspberries and strawberries).

Every red Burgundy’s wine grand cru are made of Pinot Noir. Here there are the twenty three names of the list :

Chambertin, Charmes-Chambertin, Mazoyères-Chambertin, Griotte-Chambertin, Ruchottes-

Chambertin, Chapelle-Chambertin, Chambertin-Clos-de-Bèze, Latricières-Chambertin, Mazis-

Chambertin, Clos-Saint-Denis, Clos-de-la-Roche, Clos-des-Lambrays, Clos-de-Tart, Bonnes-

Mares, Musigny, Clos-de-Vougeot, Echezeaux, Grands-Echezeaux, La Romanée, Romanée-

Conti, Romanée-Saint-Vivant, Richebourg, La Tâche, La Grande-Rue, Corton.

We better understand why this mysterious grape variety intrigue. It is at the origin of the greatest, best known and coveted wines in the world. Alone, it can produce 23 of the Burgundy’s grands crus but the ground type where it takes root tells us a lot about the aromatic which it is going to exhale. Next week we will talk about this in our article on Burgundy. Between now and the publication, get a ride with the Pinot and enjoy it !