August 18 is International Pinot Noir Day. To celebrate we've put together a list of 10 pinot noir wines from around the country. From Gippsland, the Mornington Peninsula and the Yarra Valley to Tasmania and the Adelaide Hills – each of these wines were made in the vineyard. We asked 10 winemakers how they approach the winemaking process when it comes to the (often temperamental) thin-skinned grape.
Pinot is a foodie wine, and while the holy grail pairing is pinot noir and duck, the red wine can stand up to spice, Asian cuisine, oily fish like salmon and tuna, and a cheese platter with all the trimmings.
Add these wines to your list.
2021 Dalrymple Single Site Coal River Valley Pinot Noir
Initial blue fruits, cola and rhubarb aromas are joined by hints of rose petal, peppercorn and baked blueberry pie. The fine, fresh, red fruits palate is imbued with hints of jasmine, darker cherries and gingerbread on the long, finish of this deliciously complex wine.Winemaker Peter Caldwell says: Pinot noir has always underpinned my enthusiasm for wine. It is the perfect example of what wine should be – mysterious, challenging, a complete reflection of its environment and the most satisfying when you get it right.
H. How do you approach the winemaking process when it comes to pinot noir?
PC. From every patch of land comes the demand for meticulous attention that, when granted, awards exceptional pinot noir and chardonnay wines that are perfectly reflective of the pristine beauty of every single site. Mother Nature calls the shots and you can taste it.
H. How is your pinot noir best enjoyed?
PC. The pinot noir grape is incredibly complex and is the most susceptible to variance. In the wrong glass it can go from inspiring to dull, so we opt for a tulip-shaped glass, which gives ample space for the wine to breathe freely and narrows the release of intricate aromas directly to the mouth and nose. We love this wine with strozzapreti pasta with roast pumpkin, pine nuts and pangrattato, or with miso-crusted Atlantic salmon served with wholegrain fried rice, shiitake mushroom and nori.
RRP $65 | Drink to 2028 | dalrymplevineyards.com.au
2021 Home Hill Kelly’s Reserve Pinot Noir
Home Hill’s flagship wine displays concentrated fruit that combines with chary French oak to deliver an ageworthy pinot noir. The Kelly’s Reserve is made from a blend of the top barrels of the vintage – always with one small section of the vintage at its core. Dark ruby with purple hues in colour, with aromas of perfumed violets, boysenberry, raspberries and plums that jump out of the glass. Uplifting fruit has a great combination with the 45 per cent new French oak to give subtle notes of cacao, dark cherries and plums on the palate. The wine has round, firm, and silky tannins, which give a great structure with good acidity and a long and velvety aftertaste that goes on forever.Winemaker Catalina Collado says: I love pinot noir for its delicate style and for the wide range of expressions that it can produce through site and winemaking technique.
H. How do you approach the winemaking process when it comes to pinot noir?
CC. Due to our location in the cool climate of the Huon Valley, our pinot requires a lot of attention to detail. Plenty of leaf plucking allows the skins to have some sun exposure, as well as increasing air flow to prevent disease (and bunch thinning is a must). We take off all the bunches that are late to veraison, the less ripe wings and any other less than perfect bunches, leaving a sufficiently reduced crop, which allows the vines to ripen the grapes over the long and cool growing season.
All harvesting is done by hand over several different picks as each block ripens in its own time. Each block, or part of a block, is then fermented separately. The winemaking decisions are made as we evaluate the fruit as it arrives at the winery. Cold soaks before fermentation allow for the expression of delicate fruit aromas, and post ferment maceration is employed to soften the tannins. Elevage (the progression of wine between fermentation and bottling) is in a mix of old and new oak on lees.
H. How is your pinot noir best enjoyed?
CC. The 2021 can be enjoyed on its own or accompanied by a wide range of meals – especially roasted duck. Decanting is not necessary although the wine will develop over time once open.
RRP $110 | Drink to 2028 | homehillwines.com.au
2021 Lithostylis The Obelisk Pinot Noir
Aromas of blackberry, black cherry and raspberry. Overtones of coffee and spice with a herbal edge. A rich and full palate with firm tannins and persistent red berry flavours. The structure and generosity of the wine affords pairing with a great array of foods. Complexity builds with time in glass as it will with careful cellaring. A great expression of the terroir of South-Gippsland.Winemaker Dean Roberts says: The pinot noir grape is the perfect medium to express a particular place and time. It’s a transparent representation of earth and season.
H. How do you approach the winemaking process when it comes to pinot noir?
DR. As a winemaker, I joke that chardonnay wants to be the your best friend, whereas pinot noir will stab you in the back if you put one step wrong! Temperamental for sure, sometimes just plain mental...bordering on genius. The absolute key is to grow intense fruit with moderate sugars, but high phenolic ripeness and balanced acidity. The winery is the place to preserve the vineyard magic – not create it.
H. How is your pinot noir best enjoyed?
DR. This pinot noir can be decanted in its youth if the intention is finish the bottle. It’s a little closed aromatically early on but will blossom with air. It’s best at cellar temperature (15–18 degrees). Any fine glassware with a wide flute is ideal. When it comes to food, Japanese cuisine is a great partner for this wine.
RRP $50 | Drink to 2031 | lithostylis.com
2021 Medhurst Reserve Pinot Noir
Delicately perfumed with a bouquet of crystalline red fruits, pomegranate and rose petals, this is a wine that reveals itself slowly and in waves. Fine-boned, silky and structures, it’s a joy to drink now but will only continue to build and improve.Winemaker Simon Steele says: I love this pinot noir for its complexity and the expression of the terroir and the vineyard's unique characteristics.
H. How do you approach the winemaking process when it comes to pinot noir?
SS. Planted on a single vineyard with high elevation – north and south facing sites – from viticulture through to the winery we wish to make wines that are textural and elegant.
H. How is your pinot noir best enjoyed?
SS. The ultimate pairing for the 2021 is Flower Drum's Peking duck pancakes. And don't forget to let the wine breathe, and enjoy with good company.
RRP $95 | Drink to 2031 | medhurstwines.com.au
2018 Nocton Willow Reserve Pinot Noir
On the palate this pinot has intense characteristics of dark cherries. Oak treatment to this wine develops a more savoury palate and adds cellaring potential up to eight years.Winemaker Alain Rousseau says: I love that pinot is a challenge to grow, and of course its colour, flavour and tannin structure. Differing yearly conditions can change the complexity of the wine. For growers and makers – especially in our cool-climate Coal River Valley in Tasmania – growing pinot can be challenging but very rewarding. The end result for us is a premium Tasmanian wine.
H. How do you approach the winemaking process when it comes to pinot noir?
AR. At Nocton we thin out the shoots and fruit and yield between five and eight tonnes a hectare. The grapes are then hand-picked and we ensure that the wine is agitates as little as possible during the winemaking process.
H. How is your pinot noir best enjoyed?
AR. Decanting is always a welcome tradition as our Willow Reserve really opens up those full-bodied complex flavours. Here at Nocton we like to serve our pinot in Plumm Vintage RedB glasses. Not only do they look spectacular, but they really bring our pinot to life and detail the amazing colour and nose of the Willow Reserve Pinot. The 2018 pairs perfectly with Wild Clover Lamb, hand-crafted dark chocolate and Tasmanian blue cheese.
RRP $55 | Drink to 2026 | noctonwine.com.au
2021 Ocean Eight Pinot Noir
The new 2021 vintage has delicate smell of freshly picked light red fruits with a hint of violets as well. Firm ripe cherries and a hint of aged cherry wood and five spice. Great persistence and length with graceful fine tannin. Ripening in the summer of 2021 and progressed steadily and without much intrusion from inclement weather – in fact it was blue skies and sunny most days.Winemaker Mike Aylward says: I love how pinot noir shows vintage variation and portrays each vintage depending on the land.
H. How do you approach the winemaking process when it comes to pinot noir?
MA. I believe most of the flavour and perfume for pinot noir comes through the skins of the grape. It's essential to get the skin to perfect ripeness, so canopy management is really important and the canopy must be managed depending on the conditions (i.e. is it wet and muggy or hot and dry). The harvest date is also critical to make sure there is ideal natural acidity and flavour development of the skins.
The making is very simple. Not too much oak (we would rather taste and smell the pinot characters than be dominated by oak). A longer, cooler ferment helps to maintain the perfume and develop flavour intensity. I prefer not to use whole bunch as I think this hinders the great perfume we get from Mornington Peninsula pinot.
H. How is your pinot noir best enjoyed?
MA. I would recommend a Burgundy glass to help maximise the perfumes. And I like it a little chilled 16–20 degrees; I find the wine much more expressive than if it was at fridge or room temperature. I think the perfume is a huge part of the enjoyment with pinot, so swirl and sniff and take your time. When New World pinots are younger they can work very nicely with fish like salmon or trout – the fattiness in the fish is cleaned up by the acidity of the wine. As the wine develops more fruit characters it will match well with pork or lamb, and then with some age I like the classic pinot and duck pairing.
RRP $60 | Drink to 2028 | oceaneight.com.au
2021 Pipers Brook Estate Pinot Noir
Delicately perfumed with both red and dark cherry, floral notes with aromas of earthy undergrowth and a touch of cedar spice. Expect layers of abundant dark cherry and red berries with hints of subtle spice and a wonderfully textured mid palate with fine supple tannins and lasting intensity. Our Pipers Brook Estate Pinot Noir is a selection of only the best parcels across our five pinot vineyards, each adding a layer of complexity and flavour to this icon of our range.Winemaker Luke Whittle says: I love the way pinot noir can be so mysterious and expressive with expansive flavours that draw you in so subtly. Then there’s the wonderful texture – delicate yet powerful at the same time. I find pinot to be a wine which grows with you. There’s so much to appreciate up front, but also layers of complexity that you can look at for a lifetime and still be endlessly fascinated by.
H. How do you approach the winemaking process when it comes to pinot noir?
LW. Pinot is so revealing, there’s nothing to hide behind, so the wine will always tell of any transgressions along the way. We are incredibly fortunate to have some exceptional pinot noir sites across the North East of Tasmania. Finding and really knowing your sites is the most important part of making pinot and we’ve had decades to get an intimate understanding of our vineyards. This means we can hone in on those incredibly special parcels of fruit and then get the best expression of site, which with pinot always involves a softer touch and at times knowing when to do nothing. Pipers Brook pinot articulates our story of region, site and vine age better than words ever could.
H. How is your pinot noir best enjoyed?
LW. We can’t go past a beautiful truffle risotto prepared with black winter truffles from our neighbours, Pipers Brook truffle farm. It's the most delicious way to showcase provenance and possibly a little humble brag about this region that we call home.
RRP $50 | Drink to 2026 | kreglingerwineestates.com
2021 Tapanappa Foggy Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir
The aroma is floral and fresh with raspberry and strawberry fruit notes layered over the complex Foggy Hill ripe plum terroir expression. The aroma effect is ethereal with flavours lilting and fresh and an intensity allowed to be fully expressed by the very moderate alcohol. The tannins are refined but forceful for such a delicate wine. 2021 Tapanappa Foggy Hill Pinot Noir is the reflection of the perfectly ripe fruit from which it was made and is a typical expression of the unique Foggy Hill terroir.Winemaker Brian Croser says: Pinot noir is the most intriguing and enigmatic grape variety of all. It can look like a rose but has a texture and complexity to surpass any red variety. It can look dark and brooding but have a pretty aroma, lilting flavour and gentle texture. Pinot only exhibits its best qualities in a very specific cool-climate range. Pinot is very sensitive to small terroir differences and vintage variations, but the myriad of varied expressions are always true to the core attributes and varietal expression. Pinot noir is truly a noble variety.
H. How do you approach the winemaking process when it comes to pinot noir?
BC. Choose the right terroir in which to grow pinot and it's an easy variety to nurture. For the best vineyard expression it needs early and complete bunch exposure to sunlight. It responds well to closer spacing in the vineyard as a means of spreading the shoots out and allowing sunlight penetration. Choosing harvest time is the most important grape growing decision, the window of optimal colour, flavour and texture is narrow before the berries slacken and freshness is sacrificed. In the winery 'less is better', gentle warm fermentation and extraction followed by malolactic fermentation and significant time on full lees in barrique. The biggest mistake you can make is to impose on fine pinot.
H. How is your pinot noir best enjoyed?
BC. Great pinot noir needs contemplation and reflection to tease out the complexity and to understand how the beautiful tapestry was woven. Pinot is better shared and it demands fine food. Subtle Asian flavours accentuate the five spice complexity of pinot, and great French food allows the richness and texture to shine. I tend not to decant pinot, only if it is a very old great bottle and only shortly before drinking it.
RRP $55 | Drink to 2031 | tapanappa.com.au
2021 Thousand Candles Single Vineyard Pinot Noir
Whole bunches (50 per cent), gentle handling with no pumpovers or plunging. Matured in seasoned French barriques. Excellent wines from Thousand Candles in 2021, thoroughly deserving of the Best Small Producer trophy they picked up at the 2022 Yarra Valley Wine Show. A bright crimson red. A gently textured wine that was made with respect for the fruit with real persistence and finesse. There's lovely purity to the aromas of red cherries, small, wild strawberries, violets and spice. The whole bunches are barely perceptible, and velvety, quite firm and persistent tannins are in complete harmony with the wine, too. – Philip Rich, Halliday Wine CompanionWinemakers Stuart Proud and Tim Holmes say: As anyone who grows pinot noir knows, it can be a high maintenance variety – but when everything comes together the rewards are great. The attention to detail in the vineyard and effort the team puts in always pays dividends.
H. How do you approach the winemaking process when it comes to pinot noir?
SP & TH. With pinot noir in particular, it's all about timing and detail. We cane prune, shoot thin, lift wires and do all the vineyard work right on schedule. Leave things too late and you can be chasing your tail. The soil and vine health program is also paramount. We aim for balance using a holistic approach to the vineyard, this gives us the best results. In the winery it’s a very simple process. The picking date is the most vital aspect. With the fruit in great condition and the right flavour/acid balance we hand pick and then process straight into the winery. Destemming, whole bunch or a combination of both with minimal additions gives us wines with great purity, depth and complexity. We want to showcase the efforts put into growing the fruit, so an approach of less is more is the winery philosophy.
H. How is your pinot noir best enjoyed?
SP & TH. This wine is at its best after being given some time to open up, so decanting for up to 24 hours before serving lets the wine show all its detail and reveal the layers. I guess everyone recommends pairing duck with pinot but we love it with roast lamb (grass-fed of course). Make sure you get a leg or crown loin with all the trimmings.
RRP $65 | Drink to 2028 | thousandcandles.com.au
2021 Trofeo Estate Pinot Noir
A ruby-coloured hue presents the drinker on approach before a blast of strawberries and rose petals lifts from the glass. Bright red cherries appear early on the palate followed by darker fruits with hints of mocha. This well-rounded wine finishes with gentle acidity that lends itself perfectly to light summer food.Vineyard owner Jim Manolios says: We love the pinot noir grape, despite all of its challenges to grow – it is the ultimate expression of terracotta wine. Without oak, pinot noir is free to express all the wonderful, subtle flavours and aromas.
H. How do you approach the winemaking process when it comes to pinot noir?
JM. Pinot noir has the ability to go seriously south in the vineyard. It’s small, tightly packed berries make it easy for disease to take hold and depending on the root stock can have a much denser canopy than is desirable. Our vineyard is in an area where there is a daily light sea breeze. The constant application of marine air as the vines and grapes are growing, combined with the diligent application of sulphur when required, seems to have kept disease in control over the last 11 years without the need for pesticides, herbicides or inorganic fertilisers. This process leaves us with essentially organic fruit, free of disease and able to be hand-picked and destemmed as appropriate. Combined with our terracotta amphora, which impart no flavours or chemicals into our wines, our pinot noir is free to express all the fruit flavours and aromas that make it so complex and so beautiful to drink.
H. How is your pinot noir best enjoyed?
JM. Being under Stelvin – all you need to do is open, pour, swirl and drink! Pour at 18 degrees and we use RIEDEL glassware – this pinot noir will refresh and complement the palate when served with any white fish, barbecue, charcuterie board, soft cheese and shellfish. It's Ideal for year-round dining.
RRP $43 | Drink to 2028 | trofeoestate.com
Top image credit: The Sea is for Me Photography, by Lucy Bradshaw.
