Who knew there was a National Pinot Noir Day? It’s on 18 August and makes for a great excuse to set aside those chilled glasses of Chablis and get a hit of red fruits and spices that many of us shun during the summer months. We’ve tried out a few examples from South Africa and the New World alongside their more traditionally renowned French counterparts, but is it a case of out with the old?
Hamilton Russell Pinot Noir 2021, South Africa
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Hamilton Russell Vineyard is one of Africa’s most southerly located vineyards in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley appellation. The soil, derived from shale, is stony and clay-rich, creating a unique flavour profile in the vineyard’s wines.
The 2021 vintage was produced from a late crop, thanks to the wetter winter and cooler spring than the vineyard usually experiences. Despite this, the fruit quality and acidity were exceptionally high in 2020, leading to the 2021 wines having complex, layered flavours. The Pinot Noir has been matured for 10 months and has undergone Malolactic fermentation — a method which helps to reduce acidity and stabilise the wine as well as develop the flavours and aromas — in French oak barrels.
This Pinot Noir has a bold and lively aroma, with red cherries and berries enticing you in, but with a spicy tone rather than a sweetness. It has depth and richness on the palate, full of fine tannins and a mineral acidity that takes it into a long finish. Perfect to drink now, while it’s young and fresh, or save it for a rainy day.
The Crossings Pinot Noir, New Zealand
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The Crossings vineyard is located in the Awatere and Wairau sub-regions of Marlborough, Australia — a prominent winemaking region. Mountains and rivers surround the vineyard in one direction and the ocean in the other, so it benefits from the heat of the sun and the cool coastal breezes, giving it the best of both worlds.
These extremes in temperature, from hot sunny days to cool nights, mean that the grapes ripen slowly, creating deep fruit flavours and sharp acidity in the wines that are produced.
Its 2021 vintage Pinot Noir was the result of the earliest harvest on record at the vineyard — weather conditions in late spring meant that the crop was moderate, but of a high quality, which is reflected in the resulting wine. Once harvested, the juices underwent a fast, hot fermentation, and a portion of the liquid underwent malolactic fermentation in a collection of oak barrels, both new and old, before being blended and stabilised prior to bottling.
The initial hit on the nose is of red berries — strawberries and raspberries with a hint of floral notes — which gives way to darker, ripe fruits, cherries and plums on the palate. There are savoury notes here, too, with just a hint of spice. The fruits persist, joined by just a tang of citrus and minerals for the long finish. It’s an elegant wine which will undoubtedly be a hit with Pinot Noir fans.
Tapanappa Foggy Hill Pinot Noir, Australia
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Foggy Hill is the newest vineyard which produces wines for the Tapanappa portfolio. The vineyard is located at the highest point of the Fleurieu Peninsula, overlooking the Great Southern Ocean, South Australia.
The growing season for the 2021 vintage was cooler than average but gave an abundant crop of perfect fruit for the winemakers to work with. After 16 days of fermentation, the liquid was sealed in tubs for a further five days of maceration on the skins before being pressed and placed into barrels for malolactic fermentation on the lees before spending 10 months in barrels. In January 2022, the wine was stabilised and bottled.
The resulting Pinot Noir is laden with bright red berries from the off, with layers of strawberries and raspberries, and a hint of floral notes on the nose. On the palate, the fruit flavours are joined by plums and slightly sour cherries, with woody spices and a touch of vanilla. The sweetness evident on the nose doesn’t make it to the palate, but it has a light and bright mouthfeel with a pleasantly lingering finish.
Edouard Delaunay Septembre Pinot Noir 2020, France
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The house Edouard Delaunay was initially founded in the late 19th century by the young and ambitious winemaker, Edouard Delaunay. Having established his brand, he set about raising the profile of his wines, which he did with great success. The business thrived and remained under the ownership of the Delaunay family until the early 1990s, when the brand and the vineyards were sold.
That wasn’t the end of the line for the family connection, though, as in 2003 Laurent Delaunay, a direct descendant of the found, was able to repurchase the brand, vineyards and original site and buildings, and is taking it from strength to strength.
The pinot noir grapes for Edouard Delaunay Septembre pinot noir 2020 are macerated while undergoing cold pre-fermentation, which brings out the flavour and aroma of the wine. Then half of the liquid is placed into oak barrels to develop the structure and add the complexity which comes with oak ageing, while the remainder is placed in tanks to age. This retains the fresh fruit flavours, creating a well-balanced wine once the two are blended before bottling.
Once opened, the aroma of fresh red berries and cherries hits first, followed by a hint of sweetness and a faint almond nuttiness. On the palate, the flavours are well balanced, with fresh fruit giving way to warm spices and a touch of oak from the ageing process, leading to a long, pleasant finish.
La Belle Angèle Pinot Noir 2021, France
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La Belle Angèle wines are made using a selection of grapes from across the Languedoc region rather than from a dedicated vineyard. While some wine aficionados might be less keen on this approach, it allows the winemakers to blend the flavours to create a wine with the particular balance and flavours they are looking for.
This La Belle Angèle Pinot Noir 2021 is a blend of fruits which hail from the plains of the Hérault not far from the sea, between Beziers and Valras-Plage and the Minervois. The wine is aged in vats for up to eight months before being bottled.
On the nose, it is fruit-forward, with ripe cherries and red berries evident from the off, with just a touch of apple in there too. On the palate, there are hints of herbs and spices, with a minerality to the flavour which balances the fruits nicely. The finish isn’t as long as a heavier pinot noir, but the fine tannins make it a very pleasant glassful with a rich, fresh flavour profile.
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