Most of us are familiar with the delightful wines made from pinot noir grapes.
There are excellent examples from California, Oregon, New Zealand, Australia and Chile. The birthplace of pinot noir, however, is Burgundy, France.
Last week we explored the great chardonnays of Burgundy; today we’ll explore the great pinot noirs.
Great Burgundies are largely misunderstood. When young, these wines can be lean, with explosive acidity and firm tannins.
Most Burgundy needs time to mature. Over time, acidities and tannins begin to integrate and become delicate yet powerful – an anomaly.
Within this great region there are hundreds of producers, each with their own philosophy and style of viticulture and vinification.
Part of what makes Burgundy so amazing yet so confusing stems from the Napoleonic Code of post-revolutionary France, which abolished primogeniture and fragmented the vineyards, often leaving them with several owners. It is common for different winemakers to own rows of vines within a single vineyard.
While this can be frustrating, it presents a fascinating opportunity to taste and compare wines made from the same vineyard and vintage but in the varying styles of several different producers.
The wines of Burgundy, both red and white, always have the name place on the label. Each village, with its own terroir, has its own unique personality and characteristics. Tie that to hundreds of growers and producers, and you end up with a lifetime of different wines to taste.
For Burghounds, like me, the concept of terroir is paramount to understanding these great wines. Among the many variations of producers and philosophies, the most exciting element is that of the soils.
The Golden Slope is perfectly situated with a southeast exposure. Its hillside vineyards produce the best wines because of their exposure to first morning sun, drainage and the outcropping of marl soils.
If you move up or down the slope to the north or to the south, the variables change, which then changes the wine.
And most Burgundian producers use native yeasts, which also change from vineyard to vineyard, village to village and so on.
When tasting these wines, approach them with a sense of delicacy, power, structure and finesse. Notes of cherries, licorice, mushrooms, cinnamon, cloves and decayed leaves are common aromatic descriptors.
The body of the wines will vary from light to full, depending on the village and the classification of each vineyard. When consumed too young, these wines can be austere and disjointed, but with proper aging, they soften and become succulent while retaining a vivacious structure.
The classification of Burgundy can be confusing. Entry-level wines labeled as Bourgogne are sourced regionally and are typically light bodied and drink well when young.
Village wines typically are sourced from vines at the bottom of the slope and drink well between four and 10 years.
Premier Cru wines come from vines higher up the slope, have lower permitted yields and result in medium-bodied wines that require longer aging, typically seven to 15 years.
The greatest full-bodied wines come from Grand Cru vineyards that are higher on the slope, have even lower permitted yields and require 10 to 25 years of aging to reach their zenith.
For the best experience, it’s important to know that red Burgundies do not make great cocktail wines. They are crafted to accompany food and require decanting for them to reach their true potential.
Alan Cuenca is an accredited oenophile and owner of Put a Cork in It, a Durango wine store. Reach him at info@putacorkinit.org.
