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Anybody who has ever seen the 2004 film Sideways will remember Maya asking Miles, "Why are you so into Pinot?" and Miles going off into a soliloquy about how "Pinot is a hard grape to grow... but has flavours that are haunting and thrilling and subtle, and the most ancient on the planet!"
Let it be said right at the start that my own preference has been for Cabernet (Sauvignon) - which is "pretty much grown anywhere". I like its complex, jammy and blackcurrant character, and find halfway decent Cabernets available all over the place. Vive la Bordeaux has been my motto ever since I got into wines seriously.
However, there is something so compelling about a good Burgundy (which is always made only from Pinot Noir) as to make one forget about the power of Bordeaux, for Pinots have a finesse and refinement that cannot be matched. Mind, only a minority of wine drinkers will like a Pinot as the wine is lighter and less 'in-your-face' than a Cabernet; two, good Pinots are difficult to find, and tend to be a lot more expensive than other reds.
The most famous (and most expensive) Pinot Noirs are of course the wines of Burgundy (Bourgogne, in French), in Eastern France, where wine has been made for over 2,000 years. The heart of the Pinot Noir-growing area is the Cote de Nuits, which extends southwards from Dijon for just 25 km and which contains 24 of the 25 red Grand Cru appellations of Bordeaux.
Of the wineries in the 24 Grand Cru appellations in the Cote de Nuits, the most famous is undoubtedly Domaine de la Romanee-Conti (abbreviated to 'DRC'), widely considered to be one of the greatest wine producers worldwide, and whose wines are among the most expensive in the world. The estate has seven different wines: Romanee-Conti, La Tache, Richebourg, Romanee-St-Vivant, Grand Echezeaux (rhymes with "achoo"!), Echezeaux, and Montrachet - each with its distinct characteristics, and each produced in tiny quantities (Romanee-Conti's average production is around 5,400 bottles per year).
Romanee-Conti from the famous 2005 vintage sells for anything from $12,000 to $34,000 per bottle - that's Rs 7.2 lakh to over Rs 20 lakh per bottle -, so you've got to either be a millionaire or very lucky to ever get a taste. Each label is numbered and signed - and well they should be, at those prices.
Of course, wine producers outside Burgundy have been trying for years to produce quality Pinot Noirs - with varying levels of success. The US has increasingly become a major producer (such was the impact of the movie Sideways that in 2005, Pinot demand is said to have jumped 50 per cent in the US), with the best Pinots coming from the Willamette Valley (Oregon) and, of course, Sonoma & Napa in California. Good Pinots are also available in Marlborough and Central Otago in New Zealand.
A number of lesser-priced (below Rs 3,000 per bottle) Burgundies are available in India: Albert Bichot, Oliver Leflaive, Loius Jadot, Jean Bourguignon, and Joseph Drouhin are some of the brands. For Pinots from the US, we have only Novy, Patz & Hall, and Siduri, while offerings from New Zealand include Villa Maria, Sileni Estate, Kim Crawford, Spy Valley, and Saint Clair.
Wine I've been drinking: Peter Paul Pinot Noir 2008 from the Russian River Valley (Napa, California), just launched in Bangalore at Rs 2,300 per bottle. It's an aromatic and light-bodied wine, with silky tannins and good complexity and richness, and should continue to be drinkable for 8-10 years and the 2009 vintage was rated 90 points by Wine Spectator.
Cheers!
Alok Chandra is a Bangalore-based wine consultant
