Pinot Noir

Shop All Pinot Noir

Intro

Pinot Noir has been the reference grape for fine red wine for the better part of a thousand years. The variety is thin-skinned and early-ripening. It is also famously sensitive to its surroundings, and shows the character of where it was grown. A wine from one limestone slope in Vosne-Romanée will taste recognisably different from another a few hundred metres along the same hillside, and a few sips can make a sommelier of anyone.

Terroir as the Whole Point

Burgundy's classification system exists because centuries of observation have shown that specific patches of ground produce wines of measurably different character. The hierarchy runs through Régionale, Village, Premier Cru, and Grand Cru, with each step reflecting a more precisely defined site. Gevrey-Chambertin shows muscle and structure. Chambolle-Musigny, made a few kilometres south, shows perfume and finesse. Vosne-Romanée carries a spiced, almost exotic quality of its own. The differences are real and repeatable across vintages, and audible in the glass.

Our Producers 

The full Pinot Noir collection is wider than the list below. The producers here are a starting point.

  • Domaine Bouchard Père et Fils farms holdings across the Côte d'Or, with the estate's identity now centred on Meursault, Volnay, Pommard, and Beaune Premier Cru.
  • Domaine de Montille brings biodynamic precision to sites in Volnay and Nuits-Saint-Georges, and to the Grand Cru Corton Clos du Roi.
  • Sylvain Pataille has done more than any other grower to make the case for Marsannay as a source of Pinot at gentler prices.
  • Bachelet-Monnot works in Maranges, where the Premier Crus drink well above their station.
  • David Moreau continues a long Santenay tradition with precision and restraint.
  • Domaine de Villaine, run by the family behind DRC, makes Côte Chalonnaise Pinot Noir of unusual precision.
  • Newton Johnson Vineyards, in the Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, has built South African Pinot's international reputation with wines that show cool-climate restraint and bright fruit. 

Other producers in the range include Peter Jakob Kühn from the Rheingau and Restless River from the Cape, with more alongside them.

Ageing

The best Pinot Noir needs time. Village-level Burgundy generally drinks at its best between three and eight years from vintage. Premier Cru wines need five to twelve. Grand Crus from strong vintages such as 2019 and 2020 can develop for two decades or more, and magnums slow the curve further still. South African Pinot is usually made for earlier drinking, though the top bottlings will hold for ten years comfortably.

Choosing by Occasion

  • Weeknight roast chicken or salmon: A Bourgogne from David Moreau, or a Newton Johnson from Hemel-en-Aarde.
  • Duck or wild mushroom dishes: A Nuits-Saint-Georges village wine or a Santenay 1er Cru.
  • A milestone or considered gift: A Bouchard Grand Cru, Chambertin Clos de Bèze or Echézeaux.
  • Discovering an underrated appellation: Sylvain Pataille's Marsannay, or Bachelet-Monnot's Maranges.
  • For the cellar: Magnum-format Grand Cru from 2019 or 2020.

How to Serve

Serve Pinot Noir between 13 and 16°C. South African room temperature tends to run warm for the wines, so twenty minutes in the fridge before opening usually does it. A wide-bowled Burgundy glass concentrates the perfume and is useful if you drink Pinot regularly. Younger wines open up with thirty minutes of decanting. Mature Grand Crus are better treated gently and poured straight from the bottle.

FAQ

1. Is Pinot Noir sweet or dry? Pinot Noir is a dry wine. The bright red fruit character of cherry and raspberry can read as sweetness on first sip, but the sugar levels in finished Pinot are very low. What gives the wine its lift is acidity rather than residual sugar.

2. Is Pinot Noir an expensive wine? It can be, though it does not have to be. The grape is difficult to farm and produces low yields, and Burgundy's best vineyards are small and historic, with prices to match. The most sought-after Grand Crus reach figures that reflect both their rarity and a long track record. Real value exists at the other end of the range. Marsannay and Maranges in Burgundy, along with South African Pinot from the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, offer real quality at fairer prices than the Côte d'Or's most famous villages.

3. Is Pinot Noir a beginner wine? Pinot is approachable for new drinkers. The tannins are soft, the body sits between light and medium, and the fruit is fresh rather than dense. The complications arrive at the upper end, where the differences between vineyards and producers become the whole point. A good Bourgogne or Village wine is a sensible starting place, and the rest opens up from there.