Category: Genre

The Spacenine A23 Pinot Noir (Perfect Cellar £14.95) isn’t produced by the side of the Brighton Road as the name might suggest but in France’s Languedoc. Some will tell you that great value French Pinot Noir doesn’t exist. Twenty years ago I’d have agreed, but better site and clone selection combined with infinitely better winemaking have given us crackers like this. Mid-red, the bouquet offers red berries, cherries and a touch a raw beetroot. The medium-bodied palate is lively with lots of raspberries, strawberries, red cherries and a hit of minty spice to the finish. Try this with barbecued red meats or hot smoked salmon.

The King’s Wrath (Majestic £9.99) shows New Zealand’s Pinot delicate side. Mid-red, the nose is gentle, combining summer pudding with mint and cream. While no blockbuster, there’s a gentle intensity to the red and black berry fruit that makes it feel bigger than it is. The use of oak is well-judged and adds a creamy, smoky tone without overwhelming the fruit’s mellow beauty.

If you prefer your Pinot big, bold, and boisterous, then the Villa Maria Cellar Selection Pinot Noir (Waitrose £16.99) is for you. This mighty wine has an old-school feel to it. The nose is crammed with sweetly toned red and black berries, vanilla, loganberries and jam. The palate is equally well-endowed, offering masses of rounded berry fruits, damson conserve, sour cherries and spearmint-tinted minerals on the finish. Decant/leave open for a couple of hours and savour this joyful Pinot with bruschetta, mushroom dishes or lamb.

“Classy” is a word I associate with The Ned Pinot Noir (Ocado £16). It’s quite European in its refinement, but it retains New Zealand’s upfront fruit. The bouquet is fresh, clean, zesty and red berry-driven with an undertow of something darker, something herbal and smoky. On the palate, it continues to walk a fine line between reserved and ebullient. Strawberries and raspberries are offset by black cherries and stewed plums, tangy acidity by creamy oak and mushrooms. Lovely with all sorts of red meats and creamy white cheeses, it’s equally at home on its own with a light chill.

If the Ned can be summed up as classy, then the Moorooduc Estate Pinot Noir 2020 (Caviste £27) is revelatory. I visited this peerless Mornington Peninsula estate when the first wave of cool-climate Australian wines hit our shores. It’s an astonishingly beautiful area just south of Melbourne. Surrounded by cooling water on three sides the wines can be stunning; combining grace with power, precision with intricacy. The Moorooduc Estate Pinot Noir 2020 is the best Australian Pinot I’ve had this year by some margin. Ruby-garnet in colour, the nose blends red berries and cherries with a lift of flowers and darker notes of earth and undergrowth. Cherries dominate the fruit profile, though there are berries and fruits of the forest in the background. Toward the finish, a bright, cleansing acidity comes through alongside smoke, and a savoury, gamey. Still young, this will be age well over the coming 5-10 years.

Chile is noted for the excellence of its Pinots. If you want a truly memorable experience splash out on the Las Pizarras Pinot Noir (Berry Brothers, £60.50). From the same winery but for everyday drinking, I have two very different recommendations, the Errazuriz Wild Ferment Pinot Noir 2022 (Wholefoods £16.45) and the Errazuriz Aconcagua Costa Pinot Noir 2022 (Taurus Wines £19.50). I wouldn’t normally recommend close siblings in the same column, but the difference between these two was so striking I feel it’s worth doing.

I can’t talk Pinot Noir and not mention a Burgundy. While it’s not easy to find affordable brilliance in Burgundy if you follow the golden rule – producer, producer, producer – it can be done. Take the Louis Latour Cotes de Beaune 2021 (Tesco £21). I was quite surprised to see this in Tesco as this “challenging vintage” (wine speak for the nightmare that keeps on giving) was tiny. The little wine that was produced was often lovely though. Freshness and fragrance are 2021’s signatures and these are evident here. Mid-red, there’s a distinct floral note attending the raspberry, cherry and blackberry bouquet. These appear on the supple, yet bright palate, which gives generous quantities of red fruits, cherries, spices, and a crisp, firm finish. Time is on its side, but if you’re drinking it now, pair it with tomato-based dishes, full-flavoured cheeses, duck or spring lamb.