About this WINE
Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir is probably the most frustrating, and at times infuriating, wine grape in the world. However when it is successful, it can produce some of the most sublime wines known to man. This thin-skinned grape which grows in small, tight bunches performs well on well-drained, deepish limestone based subsoils as are found on Burgundy's Côte d'Or.
Pinot Noir is more susceptible than other varieties to over cropping - concentration and varietal character disappear rapidly if yields are excessive and yields as little as 25hl/ha are the norm for some climats of the Côte d`Or.
Because of the thinness of the skins, Pinot Noir wines are lighter in colour, body and tannins. However the best wines have grip, complexity and an intensity of fruit seldom found in wine from other grapes. Young Pinot Noir can smell almost sweet, redolent with freshly crushed raspberries, cherries and redcurrants. When mature, the best wines develop a sensuous, silky mouth feel with the fruit flavours deepening and gamey "sous-bois" nuances emerging.
The best examples are still found in Burgundy, although Pinot Noir`s key role in Champagne should not be forgotten. It is grown throughout the world with notable success in the Carneros and Russian River Valley districts of California, and the Martinborough and Central Otago regions of New Zealand.
Buying options
Add to wishlist
Description
Compared to the ‘Nature’, this is a single vineyard expression that has sulphur dioxide added to it, giving more precision and framework. Darker in colour too, there’s a kirsch cherry to the wine, gentle, ethereal, a hint of cranberry leaf, yet also pinpoint raspberry on the nose. The palate shows great fleshiness, real clarity, none of those old Alsace Pinot Noir stalky traits, so silky, a wave of succulent fruit. Not Burgundy but the Kiwis better watch out, for the Rieffels have found their grape!
(David Berry Green)
wine at a glance
Delivery and quality guarantee