Francisco Baettig’s project in Chile’s volcanic south is wowing critics. In 2022, we caught up with founders Francisco Baettig and Carlos de Carlos to find out more Chile is already well-known for producing top-quality Chardonnay and, to a lesser extent, Pinot Noir. But the wines tend to translate the intense solar energy synonymous with the…
For more than two decades, Donum has been quietly crafting single-site, single-clone and sometimes single-barrel wines. With a new estate vineyard to their name, Rachael Ryan – Senior Buyer at our US arm, Vinfolio – sat down with winemaker Dan Fishman to find out more about the ambitious estate Like most of the New World,…
Following the Burgundian Grand Cru model, The Donum Estate’s goal is to produce the finest Pinot Noir and Chardonnay possible, as expressed through single-vineyard wines in California’s Carneros, Russian River, and Anderson Valley regions (and soon Bodega, too). The newly released 2017 vintage was just reviewed by Erin Brooks at Wine Advocate and James Suckling…
Without a doubt, the best region in Oregon for growing top-tier Pinot Noir is the Willamette Valley. This relatively cool, dry American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in the northwest region of the state produces wines that are perfectly balanced in virtually every way. The best Willamette Valley Pinot Noir is deeply concentrated in flavor, yet also soft and graceful. It’s earthy, but also sweetly fruity and full of bright red berry flavors like cranberry and cherry. Some wine critics even compare Willamette Valley Pinot Noir to top-quality Burgundy.
Fall is the season of change—as the trees shed their leaves and temperatures drop, both people and animals begin hunkering down for the cold, dark winter months ahead. The wine industry also changes this time of the year as wine enthusiasts stow their crisp white and rosé wines and replace them with bolder, richer reds that pair well with hearty fall dishes.
Pinot Noir is a wine chameleon—it evolves in response to its surroundings, taking on an entirely new personality in every terroir. This light-bodied red wine variety is extremely sensitive to even the slightest changes in climate, which is why there’s such a notable difference between New-World Pinot Noir and Old-World Pinot Noir. While New-World Pinot Noir is often fruit-forward, heavily oaked, and extracted, Old-World Pinot Noir is generally more delicate, acidic, and earthy.
The vast majority of labels made by Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (DRC) are meant to be aged for decades and not opened a moment too soon. However, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Échezeaux is perhaps the one exception. While you can lay this charming wine down for many years, you can also enjoy it while it’s young. In fact, it often retains a youthful vibrancy even after it’s spent 20 or 30 years in storage.
Willamette Valley Pinot Noir has an excellent reputation among fine wine collectors. These wines are even compared to Burgundy’s in terms of their flavor profile. Master of Wine Jancis Robinson told the Los Angeles Times that producer Bergström makes some of her favorite Oregonian Pinot Noir in part because it reminds her of fine Burgundy. “I love Bergström’s wines because they are an exciting expression of what Oregon has to offer,” she says. “Josh Bergström trained in Burgundy, so they have a purity and a lack of palate-numbing sweetness too.” The best Willamette Valley Pinot Noir vintages achieve this purity and freshness when the weather conditions in the valley are just right. Too much or too little rain and sunshine can significantly reduce the quality of the vintage as a whole.
Pinot Noir is one of the most versatile wines to pair with food—from fresh spring vegetables to rich paté, you can serve this wine with a huge range of dishes. In fact, when I’m invited to a dinner party or bring my own wine to a restaurant, I very often take along a Pinot Noir, especially if I’m not sure what dish is going to be served. The wine’s perfect balance of bracing acidity, sweet fruit, and complex aromatics make it a joy to drink on its own or paired with nearly any dish.
Mentioned in This Post: Sea Smoke Shafer Vineyards Coming out of a year with shoddy weather conditions and tired vines, 2007 Sea Smoke Ten is an unlikely success story. Now that this wine has had about 10 years to age, it has transformed from a slightly awkward duckling into an elegant swan worthy of a…
The ripe “fruit bomb” style of much Pinot Noir over the past 10 years has finally fallen out of favor in the United States. Colder regions like Alsace are growing more robust and richly-flavored Pinot Noir than ever as the weather in the region becomes hotter, yet this wine style is still losing ground…