Pinot Noir is probably the most frustrating

wine grape on the planet but is responsible for

some of the most expensive and sought after

wines in the world.

Pinot Noir is probably the most frustrating wine grape on the planet but is responsible for some of the most expensive and sought after wines in the world.

Because of the thinness of the skins, Pinot Noir wines are lighter in colour and tannins. However the best wines have a complexity and intensity of fruit that can only be described as sublime. Packed full of juicy strawberry fruits when young, at its top level it matures into a complex masterpiece with vegetal and farmyard tones.
It is at home in Burgundy but it is grown throughout the world with notable success in California, and the Central Otago region of New Zealand. Pinot Noir's key role in Champagne should also not be forgotten as one of the holy trinity of grapes in this world famous wine.

If its history is in Germany, its future is in the New World where Riesling is enjoying a marked renaissance. In Australia the grape has developed a formidable reputation, delivering lime scented masterpieces.

Over in New Zealand the Kiwis are more inclined to be lighter bodied, more ethereal and sometimes off-dry; a cross between the fireworks of the Australians and the complexity of Alsace.