Pinot Noir - the high-quality classic

Pinot Noir is also known as Pinot Noir / Pinot Noir / Pinot Noir and Pinot Nero (Italy).

It is a red wine grape variety that originates from Burgundy and is successfully cultivated worldwide, especially in cooler growing regions. No other grape is so subtle and refined! With its fine nature, it is amazingly like a ballerina. It always proves to be very demanding in the vineyard and requires the best sites. Pinot Noir sprouts medium-early and is therefore sensitive to late spring frosts. However, it is characterised by good winter frost hardiness when the wood matures well. It is a rather difficult grape variety in terms of viticulture. The thin-skinned fruit requires very sensitive handling, as the juice is released too early if the skin is damaged. They also react strongly to climatic fluctuations (heat/cold). In cool wine-growing regions, only winegrowers who have the best south-facing slopes with fertile, warm and sufficiently calcareous soils should consider planting this variety.

More about Pinot Noir

Profiles

Pinot Noir is a light, fine red wine with little tannin and high acidity. The flavour varies from silky and sensual to rustic and elegant. Ripe, sometimes exuberant fruit flavours of red and black fruits are usually present.

Fruit★★★★

Body★★★★

Tannin★★★★

Acidity★★★★

Alcohol★★★★

Flavours

The best Pinot Noirs fascinate with an ethereal bouquet that is hard to pin down. The higher the quality of the Pinot Noir, the finer and more varied the aromatic layers become. Its aroma is rather subtle and is reminiscent of red and sometimes black fruits such as raspberries, cherries or cranberries. Good Pinot Noir wines often also have elements of roses, earthy tones and wood. Spices and herbs, as well as mushrooms or leather in mature wines, also sometimes reach the wine connoisseur's nose. However, Pinot Noir is also a wine with terroir character. In its native Burgundy, it is therefore even classified according to vineyard location.

Dominant notes:

- Cranberry
- cherry
- raspberry
- clove
- Mushroom

Possible notes:

- Herbs/flowers: violet, iris, hibiscus, rose, potpourri, rose hip, red liquorice, dried herbs
- Citrus: blood orange
- Red fruit: cranberry, pomegranate, strawberry, raspberry, cherry, candy floss
- Dark fruit: plum, plum sauce, blackberry, wild blueberry
- Dried fruit: dragon fruit
- Earth/Other: cocoa, powdery vapour, dry leaves, potting soil, mushroom, truffle
- Secondary notes: Cream, toasted bread
- Aged in oak: Brown sugar, cola, cinnamon, allspice, clove, vanilla, milk chocolate

Harmonises with

A multi-layered, elegant Pinot Noir is the perfect wine for food. A Pinot Noir goes just as well with light game dishes as its earthy character does with mushroom and truffle dishes. A Pinot Noir also tastes great with white meat, as well as with cheese, such as Camembert, Brie and other soft cheeses. Pinot Noir even cuts a fine figure with dessert. It is drunk from a wide goblet, which brings out the diverse flavours.

General information

The versatile Pinot Noir is a high-quality classic among red wines. Pinot Noir is one of the finest red wine varieties in the world. The grape variety is traditionally found mainly in cooler wine-growing regions such as Burgundy in France, where it is also native. Experts believe that the vine has been growing in France's northernmost wine region for almost 2000 years and originated from a wild variety. The winegrowers there bred it from a wild vine and cultivated it. Pinot Noir is therefore probably one of the oldest grape varieties still in cultivation in the world.

Records from the 14th century show that Pinot Noir grapes had dense berries and resembled a large pine cone. This is where Pinot Noir got its name from. As "pin" is the French word for pine, it is assumed that this is where the name of the grape variety comes from.

Today, the Pinot Noir grape is grown all over the world and there are as many as 15 clones of it. Wines made from Pinot Noir grapes are mainly produced in France, the USA, Australia, Germany, Moldova, Italy, New Zealand and Switzerland. Almost 87,000 hectares of vineyards are planted with it.

The Pinot Noir vine is a diva in the vineyard. Very different Pinot Noir wines can be produced from the same vineyard and the same vintage: The dream and the nightmare are very close to each other with Pinot Noir wines. The vine is considered a diva in the vineyard and is very sensitive during cultivation and ageing. The vine is susceptible to disease, the grape skins are very thin and neither too much nor too little yield is desirable in terms of flavour. Pinot Noir loves a temperate climate where the growing season is long and the grapes can develop an intense flavour. The Pinot Noir vine feels most at home and thrives best on calcareous soils interspersed with marl and clay.

Finesse and elegance characterise successful Pinot Noir red wines, which are almost always vinified as single varietals. In Champagne, Pinot Noir is used as an ingredient; only Crémant d'Alsace consists of 100 per cent Pinot Noir. When Pinot Noir is made into a rosé, it is sparkling and has notes of elderflower, green strawberry and sour plum. The following applies to all wine styles: the flavour varies depending on the region, vintage and winemaker. However, Pinot Noir always has a lavishly rich bouquet and an intense, bright ruby red colour.