Pinot Paradise

Change isn’t always a bad thing. Rather, it can yield tremendous benefit as seen especially in the case of Duroché, now helmed by Pierre Duroché. Since taking over the domaine from his father, Pierre has demonstrated further restraint in his winemaking style which has translated into some highly lauded wines with his more recent vintages, earning him a well-deserved reputation. Gevrey-Chambertin can be known for producing quite dense styles of Pinot Noir which Pierre balances with understated elegance.

Phillip Jones has over 40 years of working with his vineyards down in Gippsland, in the south east of Victoria. Using organic and biodynamic practices, Mr. Jones’ practices his overall philosophy of using as few interventions as possible; high density plantings and incredibly low yields, in order to express wines true to their terroir and unique individuality. Crown Prince comes from a vineyard planted in 1996, and like the majority of his wines, has a signature earthy, gamey character to accompany its fruit profile. The wines take on an even rare position now, with the sale of Bass Phillip occurring only just a few months ago, signalling the end of an era for Mr Jones.

When one hears “red wines from Argentina”, their mind would rightfully jump towards Malbec. Chacra provides an incredible counter argument to the viability of Pinot Noir in Argentina. Chacra, a Spanish term for a farm that produces food for its surrounding inhabitants, was founded in 2004 by Piero Incisa della Rocchetta of the famed Italian winemaking family behind Sassicaia. In pursuit of an “unobstructed expression of the climate, micro-climate, and terroir”, the land is farmed organically and biodynamically. Barda is from vineyards planted in 1990 and designed as a cuvée for youthful consumption with an openness in its early years.

The first American ever named as a winemaker and vineyard manager at an estate in Burgundy, Ted Lemon has certainly demonstrated his affinity for Pinot Noir for more than a third of a century now and shows no sign of slowing down. After working at several wineries around the world, Ted and his wife Heidi established Littorai in 1993. An ardent believer in healthy vines not existing in a monoculture, the basis for Littorai’s property was that of an integrated farm. Les Larmes, French for “the tears”, came about after losing a vineyard to phylloxera (deadly pests that attack roots of the grapevine). Yields from subsequently replanted young vines were combined with declassified barrels from other single vineyards to make the cuvée. The wine breaks the shackles of big, alcoholic monsters common of Pinot Noirs from the US, with an elegant refinement and balanced concentration of red fruited intensity.

Founded in 2002 by the Sauvage family (owners of Koehler-Ruprecht in Pfalz, Germany), Burn Cottage was founded on an uncompromising philosophy of quality, seeking the best of what Pinot Noir from Central Otago can be. It’s no coincidence that they brought in Ted Lemon of Littorai as a consultant and wholeheartedly adopted his biodynamic approach for the property. Moonlight Race comes from a blend of two vineyards – the Burn Cottage Vineyard and Sauvage Vineyard. The complementary nature of flavours from the vineyards produce a wine expressive of Central Otago Pinot Noir, while showing a freshness often associated with the region.

If you go down to the woods today you’ll be in for a big surprise; by “the woods”, we mean the Black Forest of Germany. Coming from Germany’s second highest vineyard which borders the Schwarzwald, Ziereisen focus their Spätburgunder (“Pinot Noir” in German) production around individuality of the site, reflecting their provenance as purely as possible. “We produce muscular wines. Not sumo wrestlers but decathletes; smooth, elegant, strong, and athletic. Strength and balance is our target,” says Hanspeter Ziereisen. German Pinot Noir remains one of the largely undiscovered gems of the wine world with Ziereisen as one of the producers leading the charge. Here, Talrain expresses said finesse through moderate alcohol, while retaining a mid-palate richness.