Pinot Noir Sydney Masterclass

You know that you’ve arrived at a Pinot Noir tasting, when as soon you enter the room fragrant waves of violets & black cherry bouquets waft into your nostrils. The perfume fills up every inch of space & the delicious enticing smell conjures up thoughts of a mild winter evening, warmed with log fires, and racks of tender lamb begging to be devoured.

In preparation of the upcoming Aussie vs Kiwi Pinot Noir wine challenge, I thought it essential that I upskill my knowledge of this seductive wine and attend a masterclass being run by the local wine society. Quite simply, spend 3 hours learning, swilling, spitting and most importantly drinking a selection of Australian, New Zealand and French Pinot Noir.

The popularity of Pinot Noir is astounding at the moment – given the plethora of far cheaper wines readily available in Australia, not to mention a market flooded with fair priced Shiraz and Cab Sav. Along with the typical wine devotees, youthful corporate types arrived for the tasting on mass, eager to jump head on into the tasting, armed with questions to challenge the wine educator of the night.
Lighter, more elegant wines are increasing in popularity in this part of the world and Pinot Noir is certainly doing its job of attracting a wide plethora of consumers ready to line the coffers of many a wine merchant across the country. Access to more clones better suited to terrain coupled with headstrong winemakers, has lead to a step change improvement in the quality of Pinot Noir coming out of NZ and Australia.

The evening was broken down into 4 flights of wine – each of 4 similarly priced Pinot Noirs from across the regions. The wines were served blind, however in each flight you knew what each of the four wines were as well as the approximate retail price of each.
The two additional glasses provided were also very handy as one was able to retain wine from previous flights for comparison with the next.
Only two Red Burgundies were included in the tasting – both in the latter flights.

The findings

Price:
The biggest disappointment of the night was the inclusion of an under $20 flight of wines. Whilst the exercise of doing this flight solidly confirmed without a doubt that if you want to drink this wine you need to be shelling out $25+ for it. Even this is a stretch as most of us more regular drinkers increasingly find that the labels we know and love are well over the $40 mark, and more often than not hitting $50. Pinot Noir and quaffable are not terms I have found cause to string together.
The step change between tiers of wine was extremely noticeable as the wines moved from light flabby fruit drink concoctions to velvet layered full bodied wines, full of character and complexity.

Region:
Each region has extremely distinct characteristics. Of the 16 wines, I was able to identify and match label to glass for 14 of them – the two that were mismatched both being from New Zealand. Whilst in some ways, this result was skewed by the fact that I had tasted many of the wines on previous occasions; I was still surprised of this result. In other blind tasting events which have included wines known to me, I have not had more than a 50% hit rate.

Aussie vs NZ?:
In some ways the recent over branding of Pinot Noir – namely Central Otago, has people thinking of these wines as over-packed with red fruits almost bordering on lolly water. Let’s face it; the success of this grape in NZ has lead to many wineries springing up and jumping on the band wagon each etching for a piece of that pie. Going back a few years ago, people on both sides of the Tasman would be saying that NZ Pinot Noir wins hands down, but now the verdict is not so certain for many who have unfortunately stumbled across a few of the less than stellar wines coming out of this region. Craig’s tour of Central Otago this year was fraught with disappointment & rather than coming back with cases of Pinot Noir, he proclaimed Riesling the winner. I firmly believe, that Martinborough is still the solid leader in NZ Pinot Noir.  I have to say that on this night the NZ wines trounced all that was on offer from Aus. The NZ wines though still loaded with fruit, tended to be more savoury, complex as well as better balanced. Whilst the verdict is still out on this question – we will declare a winner at the conclusion of the Aussie vs NZ Pinot Noir taste off, coming soon to a kiwiwinefanclub near you!

Burgundy:
One needs a degree to understand the Burgundy appellation system and it seems one also needs to count and cross check off each individual letter in the name of the wine when purchasing – a little mistake made by one of the wine societies lead to the inclusion of an $85 bottle of wine instead of it’s $60 brother. Something I certainly was not complaining about. Complex in name and complex in nature sums up where the two wines stood, with both Burgundies being mammoth beasts in comparison to the Australasian wines. We’re very used to drinking our Pinot Noir young in this part of the world, with not much of it warranting past a couple of years in the bottle. Both Burgundies were the ‘oldies’ being 05 wines in a line up of 06/07 releases, but these babies needed to go back in the bottle and be left well alone for quite some time. Whilst these wines really are cheapies in the world of Burgundy, I have to say that they are fantastic value for money so instead of that Ata Rangi this year, I would recommend a bottle or two of either of these labels and forget about them till you hit that next milestone birthday in a decade or so !

Central Otago Vines.  Pinot Noir Country

Flight One:

2006 Little Rebel Pinot Noir - $16 (Yarra Valley)     82/109
Lightweight and fresh. Raspberries and unripe strawberries dominate the palate, but with a clean finish. Unsettling slight greenness to this wine & the oak is a little unintegrated and almost clumsy. Nonetheless easy drinking and uncomplex.

2005 Sticks Pinot Noir - $18 (Yarra Valley)    80/109
Deep nose – mossy, earthy and vanilla. Distinct orange hue circling the deep purple colour, showing a little age already. Light on fruit and masked by oakiness. Bitter after taste & tannins that linger a fraction too long.

2007 Stoneleigh Marlborough Pinot Noir - $20   89/109
Earthy tones of pungent moss, mushrooms and straw on the nose & glowing a bright garnet red. Lots of cherry and blackberry notes, but overtones of musk give this wine a touch of complexity. Slight chewiness to the wine, but still with a smooth finish.

2007 Wyndham Estate Bin 333 - $14  (Various)     80/109
Extremely light weight wine – almost sterile on the nose reminiscent of hospital disinfectant. Strawberry is predominant, but very little substance and lacking in palate depth. Quick easy drinking.

Flight Two:

2007 Matua Valley Shingle Peak Pinot Noir - $23 (Marlborough)  88/109
On pour, this wine looked to be extremely light weight with very little substance and was extremely transparent. The nose however, was herby and medicinal with black liquorice muddled with floral overtones. A touch astringent with a bitter finish, tobacco prominent amongst the fruit though unfortunately lacking in depth.

2005 Rochford Pinot Noir - $28  (Yarra Valley)    93/109
This wine was definitely one of the surprises of the evening. Fantastic value at under $30 offering up delicious complex savoury characteristics. Lots of mushroom and nuttiness on the nose and this carried through into the taste. Plums, straw, large open fields tinged with spice and a fantastic long finish.
Extremely enjoyable & a great pick for Friday evening casual drinks.

2006 Stoneleigh Pinot Noir “Rapaura” - $29  90/109
Deep purple colour and extremely fragrant – but quite candied, with strawberry jam on the nose. Packed as expected with a tonne of red fruit, but some pleasant earthy notes crept through unexpectedly. Softy and silky wine, but a little light though likely to have mass appeal with those preferring the sweeter style of pinot noir.

2007 The Wine Society Tasmanian Pinot Noir - $20  86/109
Deep burgundy colour and full of floral notes and a slight smokiness. Full of sweet plums and black cherries, with a hint of clove and cinnamon. Very simple wine, yet pleasant and delivers on what you would expect of a wine store/society label at this price.

Flight Three:

2007 Coldstream Hills Pinot Noir - $30 (Yarra Valley)   93/109
Extremely smokey on the nose & almost acidic. Classic pinot flavours with earthy complexity – heavy red fruits coupled with meaty mushrooms and a sprinkling of cinnamon, though quite pungent on the palate. Whilst the flavours are deep, the finish is surprisingly short and subtle. Drink young.

2005 Domaine Dureault Mercurey 1er Cru Clos Vogens - $50   99/109
The perfume on this burgundy is mammoth, with masses of violets and rosewater notes over powering everything else in the room. Extremely rich, dark blood red colour singles this wine out from the others. The acids explode along with the youth of this wine and with insufficient rest it comes across initially as a little muddled. Lots of tobacco, herbaceous (almost medicinal) and brushed with delicious French oak. Whilst a touch tannic at this point in time, this is still a sophisticated delicious wine that would bring out some oohs and aahs at a mid winter Christmas party !

2006 Montana “T” Terraces Pinot Noir - $35 (Marlborough)  92/109
Sound wine, smooth and medium weight on the palate. Again very floral on the nose, but somewhat alluring. Intense sweet jammyness on the first sip, though follows through into a surprising creamy savoury finish. Almost a slight greenness to this wine with tea like tinges.

2006 Wild South Reserve Pinot Noir - $30 (Marlborough)  93/109
Subtle on the nose – just a hint of prune and earthy smoky notes. This wine has warmth to it, with its rich blackberry body coupled with vanilla and spice. Thankfully not overly sweet, it lasts long into a savoury dry finish. Woodiness from the oak does come through into the wine, but it remains well balanced and enjoyable.

Marlborough, NZ

Flight Four:

2007 Coldstream Hills Reserve Pinot Noir - $50 (Yarra Valley)  95/109
This wine is several notches above it’s little brother also tasted on the same night – from low yielding vines & finished in fine French oak, this wine will go the distance. Rich and dark in colour with huge flavours that completely take over the mouth. Slight fruit, but mostly masked with leather and boot polish notes. Distinct savoury and gamey pinot characteristics.

2006 Craggy Range Te Muna Road Vineyard Pinot Noir - $40 (Martinborough)  96/109
Savoury and smokey oak on the nose, perfumed with berries and blood oranges. Extremely creamy and silky texture, with fine tannins making this a seriously smooth smooth wine. The fruit notes are on the green side - slightly unripe cherries and currants with vegetative earthy and root tones cutting through this wine. Absolutely delicious wine, at seriously great value.

2006 Gibbston Valley Pinot Noir - $44 (Central Otago)  93/109
Sticky brambles and blackberries come to mind on sampling this wine. Initially flavours are compact, though the sweetness of the fruit starts to expand and the finish is long with a hint of smoke. There is a tomato bush greenness to this wine, along with sickly florals and currants. Slightly disappointing alongside the others which show more complexity and depth.

2005 Remoissenet Moret St Denis 1er ‘Clos des Ormes' - $85  101/109
Like the other Burgundy on offer, the fragrance of this wine takes over the room with a heady seductive aroma of black cherry. This wine has a vibrant colour and if one was expecting it to be intense they would not be let down. Full of complexity – sweet and fruity to start but rich sage, medicinal, wooden characteristics are noticeably present with a tobacco tinge. Luxuriously soft and silky with endless flavour and a long mineral finish. This is a fantastic wine which one might struggle to hold back cracking open as it is drinking beautifully now, though I imagine patience would be extremely rewarded. Wine of the night as this trounces all others in this line up.