GIMME THAT FUNK: THURSTQUEEN DISHES ALL THINGS PINOT NOIR AND WHAT TYPE MAY BE RIGHT FOR YOU
A thinking person’s grape…
I have a confession to make. I was kind of dreading writing about Pinot Noir because there’s a lot to this grape. It’s highly complex, and a very lengthy monologue in the movie Sideways was written about it.
Despite all of this, I will do my best to give you an introduction and touch on some of the intricacies of this grape and what makes it so captivating to wine drinkers around the world — especially Paul Giamatti.
Pinot Noir is a thin skinned, highly temperamental, somewhat fragile grape that is a real bitch to grow, apparently. This grape has a lot of layers to it. A lot of nuance, if you will. If it were a person, it would read Sylvia Plath and probably be — gasp — a writer! (Cringes) Pinot was the one grape when I was taking my Level One at the Court of Master Sommeliers that the Masters would just wax philosophically about for minutes on end.
For all the other varietals they just gave basic tasting notes, but when they tasted a glass of Pinot Noir from the Burgundy region in France, their tasting notes turned into full-blown poems about the aromas of violets, the back of a saddle, the delicate scent of mushrooms wafting through the French countryside and how it reminded them of their childhood… You get the picture.
There’s something about this grape that makes people just want to pace around the room with a glass in hand, usually wearing some kind of silk robe and hat with a fez, and talk about it for minutes on end — using really big fancy words. I call it, “Pinot-speak.”
That’s why I call Pinot Noir a thinking person’s grape. So I’ll be true to form and try to wax poetically - but economically because this is a blog after all - about the aromas of this grape.
The abstruse dissimilitudes of the highly sagacious varietal, Pinot Noir…
Okay. That’s enough Pinot-speak for me. Let’s get down to the basics.
Pinot Noir is actually one of the oldest varietals in the world, hailing from the Roman era. It’s 1,000 years older than the flashier, more extroverted Cabernet Sauvignon.
Other grapes like Pinot Blanc and Pinot Grigio are actually mutations of this varietal, meaning they’re the same grape, they just come in different pretty colors.
Pinot Noir is another example of a Burgundian varietal. If you remember a couple of blog posts ago when we were shooting the breeze on Chardonnay, you’ll remember Chard is another example of a Burgundian varietal. Both of these varietals typically love the same sort of cool climate near bodies of water, with steep slopes and plenty of fog.
If I am fortunate enough to take my yearly trip up to the Sonoma Coast — where there’s plenty of Pinot — it’s so clear why the climate is perfect for yielding such beautiful, cool-climate expressions of Pinot Noir.
Seeing those steep, jagged hillsides with views of the ocean, the vines creeping above the fog near the Redwoods actually gives me goosebumps every time. It’ll take your breath away.
NEW WORLD PINOT CHARACTERISTICS
Pinot Noir is grown pretty much everywhere — at least it seems like that nowadays.
You can find Pinot Noir throughout California in places like Santa Barbara, the Central Coast, Edna Valley, the Russian River, and my personal favorite — The Sonoma Coast. Outside of California there are some great Pinot Noirs made in Oregon and Washington.
Other regions that make Pinot Noir outside of the US that are also considered New World regions are Chile, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
New World Pinot Noir typically is fruitier, with aromas of raspberries, cherry cola, rose hips, hibiscus — even cotton candy. These Pinot Noirs tend to be a bit higher in alcohol, but they still have great acidity.
I typically find New World Pinot Noirs more floral, with more sugary qualities to them and elements of clove. They are very bright and fruit forward, which makes them quite different from their Old World relatives.
OLD WORLD PINOT CHARACTERISTICS
Old World Pinot Noir can be found in Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, and of course let’s not forget the French regions such as the Alsace (I’m obsessed), Jura, and Savoie.
Pinot from these regions have so much going on. They’re mushroomy, leathery and some are a little funky — especially if you hit up some of the regions in Burgundy. (Or you can say, the ‘Burgs if you want to be one of those people.)
These Pinot Noirs have extraordinary levels of minerality and a depth of fruit that I kind of have a hard time finding in some New World Pinots — barring some exceptions.
There’s just a stunning multidimensionality to these wines, with gorgeous notes of blueberries, plums, truffle, and even smoke.
You can call me a curmudgeon, but I tend to like my Pinot Noirs from this side of the globe.
This is one of my weird… wine eccentricities I guess. I really try hard not to be too biased with wine, but one of my sticking points is higher alcohol Pinot Noirs. Pinot Noir is a lighter bodied, thin skinned, higher acidity, low tannin grape that really shouldn’t have a lot of alcohol. Like I’m talking 11-13.5% MAX. I don’t mean to throw shade — and I know I’m totally doing it — but in some New World regions, I stumble across Pinot Noirs that are higher than 13.5. Like… they literally have so much alcohol when I nose the glass for aromas I can feel my nose hairs burning off. That’s not good.
So I try to stick to Pinot Noir from this side of the globe. There are exceptions to every rule, I understand that. (And you’ll see for my pick of the week, I’ve found an exception, he he.)
DEEP CUTS FOR PINOPHILES:
So Pinot Noir is your thing, huh? Be sure to check out some of these other fun little wines and varietals. Blaufrankish and St Laurent from Austria, and I’ll throw in a good ole’ fashioned Etna Rosso from Sicily.
And now for our…
PICK OF THE WEEK:
Maison Noir Wines, “Other People’s Pinot Noir” 2019 $25.00
A photo I snapped of this wine from my days as a baby Wine Broker, hustling in Los Angeles.
I am down with OPP. (I’m sorry Andre Mack, I had to.)
If you don’t know about Andre Mack and OPP, well, you should. Andre Mack is an author, winemaker, and Sommelier. He’s also the first African American to win the title of Best Young Sommelier in America, which is pretty awesome.
His winemaking skills are on point, and these wines would literally help me pay my rent as a broker. They sold like hotcakes because people loved them so much.
OPP is one of those gems that you may be able to find at a Whole Foods but is still a respected wine. Not to mention, it definitely has the, “cool factor,” and “legitimacy,” among even the pickiest folks in the business.
I think it’s because of Andre’s ingenious idea of purchasing fruit in tiny amounts from the best terroir in Oregon and incorporating it in his wines.
This practice is called, vin de garage, or “Garage Wine,” because production of these wines is so small, it can be made in a garage. Some of the highest regarded wineries in the world have taken this approach — including the unrivaled Right Bank producer, Château Le Pin. There’s this idea that with lower yields, winemakers can really focus on quality and depth of fruit.
What I love about these wines is they are so Old World-y it’s not even funny. There’s such depth to OPP, that if I were to taste this wine blind, I might guess it was not from Oregon.
The acidity is really great. OPP is really balanced, lighter bodied, and truly versatile. It can be enjoyed on its own — which I often did.
On really brutal days at work, I’d pick up some of those frozen flourless chocolate cakes, pop one of them in the microwave and have it with this wine. It definitely brightened my mood.
If you’re at a Whole Foods and spot a bottle of this wine — snag it! It’s great. I’ve also included a link to Mouton Noir Wines so you can purchase it directly from there. They have a bunch of other fun wines and merchandise to grab as well.