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Pinot Noir : Key Points

Pinot Noir is an old, prodigious black variety that was first mentioned in writings dating back to 1375 under the name of Plant Fin. Burgundy is home to its symbolic grape. It belongs to the ‘Black variety’ family and has many relatives including Chardonnay, Aligoté, Gamay and Melon de Bourgogne (the variety used in Muscadet wine).

Pinot Noir is a complex and delicate variety that does not grow well in warmer regions because it would ripen too quickly before developing balanced flavours and acidity. It can reveal all of its splendour in the heart of Burgundy with its fine limestone terroir and the perfect growing conditions. The wines from the Côte de Nuits, which include Givry, Vougeot, Morey Saint Denis, Vosne-Romanée and Gevrey-Chambertin, and Corton Grand Cru from the Côte de Beaune, are among the best Pinot Noir wines in the world.

Pinot Noir’s small, compact bunches makes it easily recognisable. Although it is a black variety, it produces a colourless juice and can therefore produce white wines, especially in the case of Crémant de Bourgogne or a "Blanc de Noirs" Champagne. When the grape skins and juice are in contact with each other, the maceration stage, it is possible to get wines with a bright, brilliant ruby red colour, which evolves into a pale brick colour with age.

Pinot Noir is traditionally made as a single varietal wine and is a beautiful interpreter of its terroir that allows the wines to be adorned with infinite aromatic nuances. In its youth, it has fresh red fruit, cherry, and blackcurrant aromas along with spicy notes of pepper and cinnamon and empyreumatic scents of toast and smoke. As Pinots evolve over the years, kirsch and candied fruit notes develop along with forest floor, truffle, mushroom and animal scents like leather. On the palate, finesse and elegance define Pinot Noir’s character that is framed within a fine tannic structure with a personality that always shows delicacy and freshness.