The rumours are true. There’s a world of gorgeous, flavour-packed pinot out there that doesn’t require you to take out a loan.
Ever tried a pinot noir from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti? Yeah, me neither. This Burgundy producer, often referred to as DRC, makes some of the most famous (or infamous) premium pinots in the world, with some regularly selling for more than $40,000 for a single bottle (insert your own exploding head emoji here).
While the house-deposit-blowing DRC doesn’t represent the pinot market as a whole, it’s a little tip-off that pinot noir is often priced more toward the premium end of the spectrum than most of its fellow reds. There’s a reason for that, as you’ll see below, but great quality, value-priced pinot is out there if you know where to look. And luckily enough, we do.
We covered the ins and outs of pinot noir in our good-value guide, but it’s worth a quick recap before we reveal our latest premium-tasting value picks further down below.
Pinot noir has been known and grown since antiquity and while we’re not 100% sure where it originally comes from, Burgundy is its spiritual home. These days, pinot is grown all over the world, from its homeland in Europe to North and South America, Australia, New Zealand – even China is having a dip these days.
The challenge – for wine growers, at least – is that pinot is fickle and finicky to grow. Unlike, say, shiraz, which thrives pretty well everywhere it’s planted (the tardigrade of the wine world?) pinot likes cool climates best. It has a thin skin, which makes it susceptible to disease and not so flash in the sun, and low yields – that is, you don’t get as much fruit out of the vine as other varieties. All up, it means a lot of care in the vineyard without as much wine in the end, making entry-level pinot a little pricier than many of its red wine brothers and sisters.
Despite being a bit needy in the vineyard, the trade-off is that pinot noir is in a class of its own for flavour, aroma, terroir (that’s the way the wine reflects the place it was grown) and food-friendliness.
Flavour, aroma and terroir are linked in the sense that while pinot noir has some typical characteristics, it can really swing depending on where it's grown. You might hear of characters like cherry, mushroom or ‘forest floor’ (which is just a pleasant earthiness), and those are all common. As you’ll see in our round-up below, though, the location of the vineyard makes a big difference, too. Burgundy, for instance, is known for savoury, earthy and herbal pinot noir, while the same grape grown in Central Otago in New Zealand is often fuller-bodied with plenty of red fruits and spice notes.
As we detailed in our dinner party guide, pinot loves food nearly as much as we do. Again, it depends on where it’s grown, but there’s typically a fresh acidity that cuts through fatty richness, while pinot noir tends to be dry, light enough that it won’t smother the dish, and packed with complementary flavours of red berries and herbs. Dishes of duck, roast lamb, mushroom risotto, soft cheeses and even salmon are classic staples, but you’re equally set with a pepperoni pizza or hamburger. It’s the people’s wine, for sure.
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1. Big Buffalo Pinot Noir
If you saw the film Sideways, you’ll know California can do pinot noir with the best of them (don’t buy into the merlot trash-talk though). This Cali pinot hails from the Central Coast region, which runs from just below San Francisco to Santa Barbara – a picturesque slice of the state that’s known particularly for pinot noir and syrah. The Big Buffalo has all the typical hallmarks of a great pinot – plenty of red cherry and raspberry notes, and bright acidity – while remaining nice and light, making it a perfect midweek drop or summer sipper.
2. Te Kairanga Estate Pinot Noir
Martinborough – a subregion of Wairarapa on New Zealand’s North Island – might not be as well known as Central Otago down south, but it’s home to some seriously good wine. Te Kairanga is one of the local wineries flying the flag for Martinborough pinot noir, and their Estate pinot is loaded with intense dark berry flavours and savoury spice, rounded off with a soft, silky texture. Pair it up with a classic like marinated barbecued lamb.
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3. Cold Snap Explorers Reserve Premium Pinot Noir
Less than an hour from Melbourne, the Yarra Valley is a pinot drinker’s paradise. And with a cool climate somewhere between Burgundy and Bordeaux, diverse soil and elevation from just above sea level to over 400m, it’s a pinot grower’s paradise, too. This Cold Snap example is everything we need in a well-priced Yarra pinot, with classic cherry and raspberry fruit notes rounded off some herbal, earthy characteristics (that old ‘forest floor’ term might make an appearance) and a light, elegant body.
4. William Downie Cathedral Pinot Noir
William ‘Bill’ Downie is a name quickly becoming synonymous with Gippsland pinot noir and, while he produces some of the best wines in the region, it’s great to see what a pinot master can do with fruit from a little further afield. In this Cathedral Pinot Noir, he is using 70% Mornington Peninsula fruit, with the other 30% from the King Valley. It’s racy and vibrant with a heavy dose of red and black berry flavours and a few hints of spice. It’s a food wine if you want it to be (a pan-seared duck breast would do the trick) but, honestly, it doesn’t need a thing.
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5. Island Belle Pinot Noir
Remember when we said pinot noir likes the cold? Well, Tasmania does cold better than anywhere else in the country, so it makes sense the state is producing some of our best pinot. This drop from Island Belle is brimming with vibrant black-cherry flavours and tempered with some more savoury, earthy notes and a zippy acidity, giving it real depth and complexity – the trademarks of a premium wine.
