Pinot Noir.
Pronounced Pee-no Nwarr
"The Holy Grail". That is now both winemakers and wine drinkers have been describing great Pinot Noir for a generation or more. Great Pinot offers a complex combination of flavours, textures and sensations that are incredibly difficult to describe. Above all Pinot Noir is something of a contradiction, because although it is the lightest of all the great red grapes, and is nothing if not delicate it is nonetheless full-flavoured. Furthermore this lightness presents itself as texture, depth and complexity.
Pinot Noir's crucible is Burgundy's heartland of the Cote d'Or but little by little winemakers elsewhere are finding the ideal soils and sites for Pinot and are glimpsing their first views of that elusive Holy Grail. Several areas in New Zealand are producing Pinot that is comparable with Burgundy and the cooler areas of Oregon and California are, in some instances, matching some of the grander estates of the Cote d'Or. And don't forget Champagne.