For the love of Pinot

Why are you so into Pinot?” the attractive Maya asks protagonist Miles in the 2004 cult wine movie Sideways. “It’s a hard grape to grow... thin-skinned, temperamental, ripens early, not a survivor like Cabernet. Pinot needs constant care and attention, and only someone who really takes the time to understand Pinot’s potential can coax it into its forced expression. Then its flavours are the most haunting and brilliant and thrilling and subtle... on the planet!”

“I am NOT drinking any Merlot,” the oenophile Miles emphatically declares. The next year, sales of Merlot in the US declined by 2 per cent while that of Pinot grew 16 per cent!

“Pinot”, of course, is Pinot Noir, the grape used to make red Burgundy, and the principal of the two red grapes in Champagne.

Wine drinkers tend to start with wines that are dark, full-bodied, fruity and oaked — the sort that Robert Parker awards 100 points (think red Bordeaux) — and gravitate to the lighter and medium-bodied but more elegant Burgundies over time. That said, it’s easier to make a good Cabernet than a good Pinot, and more wine people like the former than the latter — borne out in both prices and ratings.

A bottle of the 2000 Le Grande Rue Grand Cru Monopole

Not that the top burgundies are cheap: Wine Spectator reports that the 2005 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Montrachet (100 pints) had a release price of US $3,000 per bottle. In March 2013, six magnums of DRC 1995 sold for US $27,300 a bottle!

Pinots have been planted in cool wine regions around the world, principally in the US and New Zealand’s South Island. Despite efforts, the grape has not (as yet) been successfully cultivated elsewhere — claims by the now-defunct Champagne India of plantings in Maharashtra should be taken with a big pinch of salt.

The Wine Connoisseurs of Bengaluru got together recently for an “only Pinot” evening — a virtual tour de force of Pinots from around the world. The line-up included a 2014 Codorniu Cava (Spain), the 2016 Saint Clair Marlborough Pinot Noir (New Zealand), the 2016 Angeline Reserve Pinot Noir (California), a 2013 Domaine Serene Yamhill Cuvee Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA), a 2012 Domaine Francois Buffet Les Poutures, Pommard Premier Cru (Burgundy, France), a 2008 Reine Pedaque Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru (Burgundy), a 1999 Domaine Jean Grivot Ronciere Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru (again Burgundy), an NV Peller Estates Ice Cuvée Rosé (Canada), a 2000 Le Grande Rue Grand Cru Monopole from the Domaine Francois Lamarche (Burgundy), and last (but not least) a 2003 Champagne Dom Pérignon. Phew!

The best Pinots are simply ethereal: primary aromas tend to be of cherries and raspberries, with secondary notes of spices, vanilla and caramel. These are low-tannin wines with relatively high acidity and an elegant taste that lingers.

For me, the wine of the evening was undoubtedly the 2000 Le Grande Rue Grand Cru Monopole, with a 92/100 rating and an average price of $293 on Wine Searcher. Despite being a “millennium baby”, the wine was fresh and vibrant, with intense aromas of cherries and roses and a soft harmonious taste that was rich but enduring.

So, as we say, vive la France!

Alok Chandra is a Bengaluru-based wine consultant