Having the scents of a French note in its name, grape varietal Pinot Noir is probably one of the finest in the world. This thin-skinned grape is known for growing in tight, small bunches and has the potential to create the most sensual wines in the world. Because of the unique texture and flavour grape varietal Pinot Noir provides, it is very rarely or better said, almost never used in red blends.
Grape varietal Pinot Noir was and still is mostly grown in Côte d’Or, the Burgundy region of France. For years, Burgundy winemakers claimed that this grape varietal can not be grown anywhere outside Burgundy. Of course, the main reason was to preserve the authenticity of the region when it comes to this grape varietal. However, winemakers were eager to explore the possibilities of growing grape varietal Pinot Noir in other regions. Thus, today grape varietal Pinot Noir is being grown across the globe, especially popular in California, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Spain and Italy. Not all regions have the same success rate and grape varietal Pinot Noir differs from region to region.
But why is grape varietal Pinot Noir so popular among winemakers? It must be the prestige, challenge, and the mystery. When compared to all other red varieties, grape varietal Pinot Noir is very tough to grow. Because it grows in small bunches, grape varietal Pinot Noir yields small amounts of grapes. Moreover, this grape variety is very demanding as it can grow in certain climates only. It prefers cool climates of spring and autumn and well-drained soils. Also, since very gentle, grape varietal Pinot Noir is prone to numerous grape-related diseases. For this reason winemakers go through an accurate clonal selection.
What makes varietal Pinot Noir a mysterious grape is the aging process, particularly the origin of the oak. Oak barrels are known for changing not only the colour and flavour of the wine, but can also affect the tannin and the texture. For this reason, Pinot Noir wine is aged in French oak barrels only. All these factors affect the quality and aroma of Pinot Noir wines. For example, if all the rules are followed, winemakers will grow high quality grape varietal Pinot Noir what will produce rich and more complex and intense wines. These high quality Pinot Noir wines have longer drink ability period of up to eight years.
