I liken a good Pinot Noir to a wise old granny. She’s always there to give sound advice, however her lack of hearing and inability to remember means that just as she is about to impart her pearl of wisdom, she turns to you and says, “Where was I son?” Enough to leave you speechless!
A mouthful of Pinot Noir is constantly changing with its multi layers of flavours leaving you speechless as you enjoy and want more.
The best Pinot Noir comes from Burgundy in France which is the benchmark for most aspiring Pinot Noir producers. “Soft and velvety”, “iron hand in a velvet glove”, “rich and scented” – these are all terms used to describe a great Burgundy Pinot Noir.
The actual grape itself is best suited to cooler climates like those in Europe. It has a thinner skin compared to other red varieties with fewer colouring pigments and tannins, and is more prone to oxidation.
The taste ranges from fruity raspberry/strawberry notes to meaty/gamey flavours. If you had to sit with an experienced tasting group while they analysed their Pinot Noir, you wouldn’t be blamed for thinking you had gone crazy as terms like farmyard, forest floor and the likes were used to describe the wine.
It can gain great complexity and depth in colour like those in Burgundy, where they ferment their wines longer with the skins on to extract the extra colour and flavour.
However, in South Africa with our warm climate, we have often produced a fruitier, lighter style. With that said, there are farms like Iona Vineyards in Elgin that are producing Pinot Noirs with depth and complexity.
The first noted Pinot Noir farmer in South Africa was an immigrant painter turned winemaker by the name of George Canitz on his farm in Stellenbosch in the late 1920s.
There are still many top producers of amazing Pinot Noirs in Stellenbosch, but the main challenge is to find the perfect cooler “terroir” that best suits this grape.
Today in South Africa only one percent of all vineyards produce Pinot Noir, proving that despite the immense knowledge we have today of different viticulture and viniculture relating to this grape, it remains elusive to most top winemakers.
As we did with Sauvignon Blanc with our new cooler climates like Elgin, Elim and Cape Agulhas, we are discovering new vineyards for this noble grape variety.
The importance of producing Pinot Noir in a cooler region is borne out by the success of Iona Vineyards in Elgin who produce two Pinots:
Their Pinot Noir Release (their 2011 was up for five stars in the Platter’s South African Wines 2014) and the funky Mr P Pinot Noir.
Owner Andrew Gunn says, “After many years of being content to focus on the more traditional grapes like Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and the red varietals for our Rhone Red blend, I finally decided to indulge in my long time insatiable curiosity and passion for Pinot Noir.
“Despite being warned about the ‘heartbreak grape’ I believed that Iona`s climate was particularly suited to this fickle variety. If any property in South Africa could produce top class Pinot Noir, then Iona was it, being one of the coolest vineyard sites in SA where we harvest Pinot Noir as late as the third week in March.”
Great specials in store this month: Iona Pinot Noir Limited Release 2012, R180 – cellar door price, and Mr P, R99 – below cellar door price.