Patricia Stefanowicz, Master of Wine (MW), reported on findings from the recent Global Masters blind tasting in London. She said judges had high expectations for the Pinot Noir category and entrants from eight countries.
“The variety is notoriously difficult to grow and vinify, but there are brilliant examples made around the globe,” she said.
The best wines showed vibrant cherry and raspberry fruit, good freshness and svelte tannins, she noted, and most benefitted from well-judged oak. The expert panelists are based in Britain, hence the prices in British Pounds. The current exchange rate is about $1.30 U.S. dollars for one Pound Sterling.
Cloudy Bay
“Pinot Noir is difficult and recalcitrant, and it does not behave the same way every year, even in the same vineyard. But, for us Pinot obsessives, finding exceptional Pinot is a quest,” Stefanowicz said.
Gold winners follow. The lion’s share of Silver medals went to cool-to-cold climates, including Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Australia, New Zealand and parts of California and Oregon. All wines tasted in the competition can be found at the Global Masters Website.
Oaked Red 100% Pinot Noir Gold
£10-£15 – Gérard Bertrand, Heritage Pinot, Languedoc, France, 2023
£15-£20 – Bijou, Éminence de Bijou Pinot Noir, Languedoc, France, 2023; Doña Paula, Single Vineyard, Uco Valley, Argentina, 2024
£20-£30 – Spy Valley, Envoy Johnson Vineyard, Pinot Noir, Marlborough, New Zealand, 2021; Leth, Pinot Noir Reserve, Niederösterreich, Austria, 2022; Gérard Bertrand, Domaine de l’Aigle Pinot, Languedoc, France, 2023
£30-£50 – Cloudy Bay, Pinot Noir, Marlborough, New Zealand, 2022; Gran Moraine, Yamhill-Carlton, Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA, 2021; Viña Cono Sur, Ocio, San Antonio, Chile, 2022; Hartford Court, Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, Sonoma County, Calif., USA, 2022; Kendall-Jackson, Anderson Valley Pinot Noir, Mendocino County, Calif., USA, 2022; Lowestoft Estate, Estate Pinot Noir, Tasmania, Australia, 2023; Lowestoft Estate, SV Woodlands, Tasmania, Australia, 2021
£50-£70 – Hartford Court, Seascape Vineyard, Pinot Noir, Sonoma County, USA, 2022; Marimar Estate, Cristina, Russian River Valley, USA, 2019; Hartford Court, Fog Dance, Pinot Noir, Sonoma County, USA, 2022; Palliser Estate, Hua Nui Pinot Noir, Martinborough, New Zealand, 2022
£70-£100 – Cloudy Bay, Te Wahi, Central Otago, New Zealand, 2021, Grand Master
