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DELIGHTS|WINEPinot Noir: From Burgundy — and beyondPieter Van den WeghePinot Noir can provide one of thegreatest experiences a wine drinkercan have. Young wines entice witharomatics and flavours of cherry, plumsand violets. As Pinot matures, the winesgrow more savoury and aspects of mushroom,earth and game evolve. On thepalate, the texture is extraordinary. Thisis a red wine which doesn’t rely uponalcoholic power and weight to succeedand its elegance and haunting beauty arebeyond many grape varietals.But, there is a rub. Quite a few, in fact.7010 t h ANNIVERSARYSPRINGTIME IN PARISSATURDAY, APRIL 28, 2012HILTON LAC-LEAMYINFO@SNOWFLAKEBALL.COMSNOWFLAKEBALL.COMPinot Noir is fickle and maddeninglyinconsistent. When compared to otherred varietals, the disparity between thehighs and lows in quality is staggering.Even in Burgundy, Pinot Noir’s homeand zenith, there are no guarantees. Partof this is due to Pinot Noir’s lack of geneticstability and its resulting tendencyto mutate. In Burgundy, where the grapeis thought to have been grown since atleast the 4th Century, there are more than1,000 types of Pinot Noir. While all ofthese clones exhibit similar qualities, theydiffer in many respects. Some do not producequality fruit and many prefer differentsoils and climates. In the vineyards,for reasons of convenience and economy,many growers in Burgundy and elsewherehave given into the temptationof planting clones which require lessmaintenance and provide larger yields.Unfortunately, the resulting wines havenot contributed to Pinot Noir’s positivereputation.Pinot Noir also costs more to produceand sell. Yields of fruit must be kept lowfor good-quality wine. The vines arehighly susceptible to mildew, rot and disease.They tend to die young and manyplants stop producing wine-worthy fruitafter three decades. All of these factorscontribute to higher prices. While it maybe easy to find a $12 bottle of reasonablygood and identifiable Cabernet Sauvignon,$12 will not cut it for the same levelof quality in a Pinot.Lastly, Pinot Noir is also not a goodtraveler. Though it has been planted farand wide throughout Europe and beyond,it wasn’t happy about it. For a long time,only a few tolerable expressions of Pinotwere produced outside of Burgundy.Then, something changed. Growersstarted to select clones more appropriatefor their environments. They experimentedin the vineyard and the winery.Over time, certain regions such as California,Oregon and New Zealand beganto succeed with this temperamental grapeand established their own reputations forcrafting perfect Pinot Noir. The resultingwines are delicious, and, while some criticsstate they may never be Burgundy atits very best, neither is much of Burgundy.This trend of compelling Pinots fromnew places is continuing. More and moreregions, typically with cooler and moremarginal climates, are contributing a newfacet to Pinot Noir. What follows are threesuch distinctive Pinots.First, we have a fun one from Italy’snorthern province of Alto Adige. It’s a2010 Pinot Nero produced by Colterenzio.This wine is light to medium-bodied andhas loads of joyful cherry flavour. Thestructure’s elegant and fresh and there’s anote of an earthy minerality on the finish.With excellent food pairing capabilities,this Pinot is great value at $22. Purchaseand home delivery in Ontario of thischarming wine is available through theStem Wine Group (www.stemwinegroup.com).For a far more Burgundian expressionof Pinot Noir, we go to wine producedby one of my favourite Canadian wineries,Five Rows. The winery is located inNiagara’s St. David’s Bench VQA subappellationand is operated by the Lowreyfamily, who have farmed the area forfive generations. The current generations,Howard and Wilma Lowrey and theirson, Wes, produce some of Canada’s mostcompelling wines. Despite the challengingvintage providing many nervousmoments and demanding much vineyardwork, their 2008 Pinot Noir is a deliciouscombination of bright cherry and blackraspberry aromas and favours with notesof floral, vanilla bean and spice. Only 106cases were made, and, while this winewill not appear in the LCBO system,it is available from the winery (www.fiverows.com) for $50 a bottle.Next is a Pinot Noir from an unexpectedplace. It’s the Laura Catena’s 2009“Luca” Pinot Noir from Argentina. Whilethere are very good Pinots emerging fromPatagonia in Argentina’s south, this winecomes from Mendoza’s Uco Valley. Thegrapes are sourced from a dessert vineyardwhich is at an altitude of more than1,400 metres. The location provides lots ofsunshine and very cool nights. Enticingaromas of cherry, spice and smoke lead toa silky and complex palate. This beautifulPinot is available from Vintages for $28(CSPC#175570).Even when the producers and regionsare familiar, selecting a bottle of PinotNoir is often similar to playing Russianroulette. However, the three suggestedwines can point you in the right direction.Pieter Van den Weghe is the sommelier atBeckta dining & wine.WINTER 2012 | JAN-FEB-MARsfb-diplomat_internat-en1.indd 117-11-11 2:22 PM