Wine Club - Pinot Noir

For this month’s Wine Club, the topic was Pinot Noir. I was nervous about doing Pinot Noir for a couple of reasons; I’m not the biggest fan of Pinot Noir and it is very hard to find a good Pinot for around $15-25.

Pinot Noir is a low yielding grape. In New Zealand they are growing both Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc; they can get twice as many bottles of Sauvignon Blanc as they can Pinot Noir from the same plot of land. Add in the fact that Pinot Noir is also a very finicky grape to grow and you can see how the price tag on Pinot Noir can start to grow.


Here is the LCBO Infomation on the two wines we choose -

2005 Austins Pinot Noir

Stock Number – 684142
Volume - 750mL
Price: $ 26.75 (+ $.20 deposit)
Made in: Australia
By: AUSTIN'S BARRABOOL WINES
Release Date: Jan 19, 2008

Description – Geelong is one of Australia's oldest wine regions. A force to be reckoned with in the 19th century, the region lost its footing after being devastated by phylloxera. It eventually rebuilt itself and is now home to dozens of smaller, quality-driven producers like the Austin family. The ocean breezes keep the region cool and Pinot Noir is a star with intense, vibrant fruit aromas and rich generous flavours.

2006 Del Fin Del Mundo Newen Pinot Noir

Stock Number – 55202
Volume - 750mL
Price: $ $ 12.85 (+ $.20 deposit)
Made in: Argentina
By: Bodega Del Fin Del Mundo
Release Date: Jan 19, 2008

Description - The 'winery of the end of the world' is a remarkable project based in the wild Patagonia region at the southern end of Argentina. The climate here is extremely dry, with just 180 mm annual rainfall, so irrigation is needed - the water used for this comes from the River Neuquén, itself fed by Andes melt water... (Jamie Goode, www.wineanorak.com, Sept. 2006) A great value, match this Patagonia Pinot with grilled portobello mushrooms or lasagna.

Opening both of the wines, the Australian Pinot was more aromatic of the two with very good berry notes. Tasting them both was interesting as they were both very different. The fruit on the Newen was very mild and so was the acidity and tannin; nothing jumped out at you but the wine had a nice balance. The Austins had really good fruit but the acidity seemed very high on it. You got the impression that if the Austins sat for a couple more years, it would balance out nicely and be a very lovely wine.

Erik (actually Erik’s wife) brought in a cheese tray and crackers and an amazing Beef Bourgogne for us to try with the wine. I like the Austins with the cheese and crackers but preferred the Newen with the Beef. The opinions on both wines were a real mix from some people not being keen on either to others really enjoying both and the rest of the people being a mix between the two.

It was nice to try a grape that we hadn’t tried before and to try a wine from a Country (Argentina) that we hadn’t tried before. Next month, Wine Club will be looking at sparkling wines.

Cheers!

Mark