Online Perfect Pinot Tasting

A very special tasting with some of the finest examples of Pinot Noir which we could get our mits on! Of all the grape varities in the Wonderful World of Wine, Pinot Noir must be the one to excite and disappoint in equally high measure! Exhalted by critics and experts all over the globe, but often producing a slightly baffled shrug when shown on tastings- 'is this it?!?!'.

The truth is, as many of us pinot-philes have discovered to our cost, you have to spend some pretty big bucks before you land on the truly exceptional examples of this grape. A diva, high maintainance, very particluar, fickle; describe it as you will.... but Pinot Noir does not give us its best work easily! But oh how we love all the more for its difficult ways! So we've taken the guess work out of the occasion and road tested 6 exceptional examples, and we are ready to share them with you! 

The third part of our Fine Wine series brings you a unique Wine School Experience right into your very own living room. We’ve moved quickly and decisively to secure two bottles of some exceptional Pinot Noirs from around the world which make for a fascinating comparative tasting. Everything from unctuous fruity styles from Tasmania to earthy meaty styles from Burgundy, you'll come to understand the full spectrum of this most illusive of grapes. These wines will be professionally transferred in to individul sample bottles and posted to you to be enjoyed at home, you'll recieve tasting measures of approx 50ml of each of the wines.  

The Wines

 Knipser Kalkmergel Spatburgunder, Pflaz, 2014 (RRP £29.50)

Possibly the best value for money wine of the whole line up....perfectly poised between bright fresh red fruit and appealing earthy undertones. Drinking brilliantly right now. 

Stargazer Single Vineyard Pinot Noir, Tasmania 2017 (RRP £50)

Ooodles of soft bouncy red fruit, from the succulence of ripe strawberry to the refreshing tart notes of cranberry and pomegranate. Tasty and oh so more-ish.... this is proper 'can't leave it alone' sort of wine!

Stedt 'Julon Vineyard' Pinot Noir, Oregon, 2016 (RRP £55)

From a stellar vineyard in Eola-Amity Hills AVA of Willamette Valley, Stedt have produced Pinot which hints at the umami depths of mushroom, wet earth and tomato leaf. 

Seresin 'Sun and Moon' Pinot Noir, New Zealand, 2014 (RRP £58)

Definitely one of the finest New Zealand Pinots we've ever tasted. This wine is big, bold, rich and unashamedly New World in style, but there is so much more than just fruit going on.... Intergrated oak, glorious Chinese Five Spice, shitake mushroom all melded around bright redcurrant fruit. 

Jean-Michel Gaunoux Pommard 'Les Perrieres' 2008 (RRP £50)

A real treat... the finest Pinot village on the Cote de Beaune, one of said village's finest producers, and a majestic 12 years ageing in the bank. 2008 was a tricky vintage in Burgundy, make no mistake! But in the tough vintages it's always worth scooping up the best producers and drinking the wines a touch younger... you'll be rewarded with something special right at its peak. Garnet rim, wild mushroom aromas and a deep truffled-umami character, this wine is right in its drinking window and we shall enjoy it all the more for it!

Joseph Drouhin Vosne-Romanee 2015 (RRP £80)

And what a way to end the tasting! From the imperious Pinot Noir village of Vosne Romanee, in the finest vintage of the decade and possibly the best since 1990; this is a wine in its infancy but still revealing its majesty. An enticing mixture of iron, wet slate, alpine strawberries and red plum on the nose; whilst on the palate the firm structure of acid and tannin serves the minerality well, giving the wine a super-long finish.  

That’s a tasty £950 worth of Pinot Noir which we’ve popped in our shopping basket and we’d LOVE to share it with you!! 4 of these wines are from single vineyards so bottles (and therefore places) are limited... 

We’ll be working with our pals over at Avino to produce 39 exclusive tasting packs for this event, these will be sent directly to you in the days leading up to the tasting. Su will also be on hand, tasting away and producing some delightful recipe cards so that you can have the fanciest food in town when you sit down to taste! Let us know if you are a two-person household and you don’t want to share, we can send you a second taster pack for £50.

All you need to do is tune in on Zoom and get ready to understand Pinot Noir in a whole new light... a genuinely fascinating tasting awaits!