…So succinctly said the late André Tchelistcheff, the pint-sized (all 150 centimetres of him) dean of American winemakers, and those words, to many winemakers, still ring true today. Other grape varieties have bad raps (Viognier translated from Latin means ‘road to hell’) but Pinot Noir is the proverbial Holy Grail and Hell for lots of winemakers, making them jump through a series of hoops in the vineyard and the winery, vintage after vintage, teasing and tantalizing and torturing them and giving them hope that they are iterating closer and closer to that ephemeral, mysterious elegance that eludes so many. It is a bastard grape - from start (propagation – there are over 1,000 clones versus 12 for Cab Sav) to finish (wine making and ageing) and holds a disproportionate level of importance and reputation in the Australian wine scene given its relatively tiny position, amounting to less than 1% of wine crushed each year.

And it is not just winemakers who fall prey to its vinous tendrils, wine drinkers seem to follow a similar progressive path of wine enlightenment culminating in a pronounced preference for Pinot Noir (and for some, only French Burgundy). Most neophyte wine folks begin with a wine that is relatively easy to get your palate around, like a typical big Aussie shiraz that is a mallet of massive fruity flavours and leaves the word ‘subtle’ pounded flat into the dust. But as your palate matures, sip-by-sip, bottle-by-bottle, hopefully you attain a more refined and discriminating set of taste aesthetics that propels you in the direction of Pinot Noir.

One of the facets of Pinot Noir that has kept me at bay over my wine drinking and educational life has been simply its price – exceptional Pinot Noir has not been for the light of wallet. This has improved substantially in the last few years with new regions appearing on the radar, providing an attractive alternative to French Burgundies that are price pleasing and make a decent stab at actually tasting like Pinot Noir. And that is one of the reasons why I now look out for and happily attend Pinot Noir-focused wine tastings, they give you a phenomenal opportunity to sample and fine-tune your Pinot palate. The most recent was New Zealand’s ‘Winter Wonderland Wines’ from Central Otago, which paid Melbourne a visit on June 26th, 2011.

The highlight of the day (there was also a general tasting) was a Masterclass run by Duncan Forsyth (Mount Edward Winery, Gibbston) and Mike Mulvey (Prophet’s Rock Vineyard, Bendigo) where we got to see, taste and experience, first hand the potential variations in the wines from vineyard and site locations and soils (‘terroir’), the winemaker’s impact and vintage dynamics (2007 vs. 2009). This was all backed up with a great and succinct overview of Central Otago’s vinous history and a very informative description of it’s various sub-regions (Gibbston, Bendigo, Bannockburn, Alexandra, Cromwell, Wanaka) with regard to the possible effects on the wine of the soil (schist rock left by glaciers that graduates from dust to stones as you head West) and temperature differences (Alexandra being both the hottest and coldest place in New Zealand with huge diurnal fluctuations). There’s been explosive growth in Central Otago where, as recently as the millennium, there were just 14 wineries – today the number ticks over the 130 mark and is still going. Currently, Cromwell is the heart of the district with 75% to 80% of the Pinot Noir vines planted and has a relatively warmer climate, which produces wines that are a bit richer, darker and lush, and appear to strike the right notes with lots of folks all around the world.

If you love Pinot Noir, stunning scenery and skiing, then take advantage of a strong Aussie $ and make a bee line for Central Otago…

Grasshopper Rock Pinot Noir Central Otago 2008 $35-$40

Grasshopper Rock makes nothing but Pinot and it is one of my ‘go to’ wines when I feel like a Pinot fix but I am not flush enough to pick up one of the Big Boys. I am never disappointed, it ticks all the right boxes. I had the chance to taste both the 2008 and 2009 at the Central Otago fest and both are winners, but I had a modest leaning towards the 2008, which may be simply due to a bit more depth and complexity from an additional year of bottle age. This is classic Pinot with wave after wave of bright cherry fruits wafting up from the glass and sloshing around your mouth, verging on sweetness but pulls back just the right notch, subtly oaked with svelte tannins - and a bargain.

Akarua Pinot Noir Central Otago 2009 $38 - $45

This was by far the darkest coloured Pinot Noir I came across on the day. It tends to be a typical characteristic (as well as gobs of fruit which they are sometimes criticized for) of Central Otago Pinots in a good to great vintage. This wine took a slew of awards in New Zealand (5 stars in Cuisine magazine) with the pinnacle being a trophy at the 2011 Royal Easter Show and it is not at all hard to taste why. The single most descriptive word I can use is ‘velvety’ and a second would be ‘perfect balance’. We are talking dark meat here folks – seriously deep plums and spice. It is around town (found it at Nick’s in Armadale) but hurry as it’s sold out at the winery, so no more will be headed to these shores.

Brash Higgins Cabernet Sauvignon McLaren Vale 2009 $37

Though this article was primarily about Pinot Noir, I did open with a Cabernet Sauvignon quote and what a special Cabernet Sauvignon this one is. This is a new wine label coming from ex-pat American and ex-New York-sommelier Brad Hickey. The juice comes from a single vineyard (Omensetter) in McLaren Vale that is composed of red-brown clay sitting on top of a limestone layer. Harvested by hand, basket pressed and laid to rest in French hogsheads for 2 years – only 116 cases made. Brash Higgins wines are part of the Scarce Earth project where these wines have passed three expert tasting panels to ensure they reflect their sense of place and express their true fruit characters. This wine strikes an amazing balance between accessibility and longevity – it drinks well now (decant before sipping for optimum flavour and softer tannins) but can cellar well for a number of years. It reeks of dark chocolate, plums and cherries, moderate herbal notes with a voluptuous mouth-feel that hangs around on your palate for yonks…has a wee bit of an alcoholic kick (14.5%) but handles it well.

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