Pinot Noir - The Gambler's Grape

Written by Ian Robertson on 10th June 2008

There is a certain feeling you get before a tasting of decent stuff. It is like a knowing – a kind of contented excitement. “I am going to learn something here.”

I feel exactly this way at the moment. A tasting coming up in a few nights time (at time of writing of course) is based on Pinot Noir, that most esoteric of grapes. Twelve wines, two from Burgundy, two from New Zealand and the rest from good ‘ol Australia.

Anyone who has followed my writing on this site knows my love of Pinot Noir, and my dismay at the simple fact that you have to pay through the nose for the most part to get decent examples. That is where tastings like this really come into their own – sure, you pay a bit up front, but you get so many answers.

What style do I really prefer? Rippingly acidic and green, or plush and ripe? A bit of oily mouthfeel or more light and elegant?

Gather together the likes of Mount Mary, Giaconda, Yarra Yering and the like and you find answers to these, and also answers to the question of which wines pose better kickbacks from that large amount of cash you need to shell out to get good Pinot.

Add to that the little game of comparing Burgundy to New Zealand to Australia (without getting too regional, of course – that would take a serious amount of wine to get through) and there is mucho fun to be had by all.

Pinot is so frustratingly hard to grow, ripen and make good wine out of. So many elements need to align to make it drinkable, let alone great. Followers of Red Burgundy will tell you this in spades – there are vintages to stay well away from even if you love the grape, simply because no one could get the fruit to ripen sufficiently for good wine. Rarely can you say that about Shiraz or Cabernet, which certainly has poorer vintages, but not often to the point of the undrinkable.

Pinot is the gamblers grape – lots of money for the chance of greatness.

Let’s hope I have greatness to report back on in a few night’s time!