Home Winners > Winners 2017 > NEW WORLD: Pinot Noir, Rest of the New World

Winner Details

Pinot Noir: Rest of the New World

2017 Gold: 2 Silver: 6 Bronze: 6 Commended: 14
2016 Gold: 2 Silver: 6 Bronze: 12 Commended: 8

One of the interesting elements of the Sommelier Wine Awards is watching the shifts in the way medals are distributed within categories, how a big haul of Bronzes one year moves to Silvers the next and an increased Gold presence the year after, as winemakers get the hang of a style.

Well, sadly, on this evidence Pinot producers outside New Zealand and the US are going the other way, with 2015’s bubble of Silvers moving into Bronze last year and then down to Commended this year.

Australia is an honourable exception – its numbers are steady. But Chile, Argentina and South Africa look to be lacking in direction here. We’d hoped for better.

FROM THE TASTING TEAMS

‘There were some really solid examples of a restrained style of Pinot Noir from Australia. And there were pretty reasonable prices on the whole, too. The stuff under £10 isn’t necessarily amazing, but £14-£16 is the sweet spot.’ Laura Rhys MS, team leader

‘The Australian Pinots were aromatic, with a pepperiness in some that made them a good match for meat or fish.’ Benoît Poulain, Adam’s Restaurant

‘I think Chile is still finding its way with Pinot Noir. Hopefully in a couple of years, we’ll see better examples.’ Marcin Oziebly, The Wild Rabbit

‘I thought the Pinot Noirs from Argentina were very good. They showed some real elegance, with good fruit, and with some really fair prices, too.’ Mattin Larraburu, Sexy Fish

 

Award winners

Found 8 wines

New World: Pinot Noir, Rest of the New World

Baleia, Erhard, Pinot Noir 2013, Cape South Coast, South Africa

Silver medal winner

‘Modern and spicy,’ began team leader Sarah Jane Evans MW, who found ‘fine, cedary red fruit aromatics, a silky palate with a blast of chewy fruit and a ripe finish’. ‘High intensity, dried cherry, plums and sweet spices with earthy hints,’ added Cristian Sanchez of Hotel du Vin Cambridge.

£15.18 Baleia Bay Wines cc t/a BALEIA WINES

Garzón, Single Vineyard, Pinot Noir 2015, Maldonado, Uruguay

Bronze medal winner

‘Some complexity here,’ said Coq d’Argent’s Andrés Ituarte, who found a ‘creamy-textured, soft palate with ripe red fruits, developed notes of cardamom and nutmeg spice with a hint of cocoa and mossy forest floor on the palate’. ‘Generous, ripe palate, powerful finish with a tangy end,’ added team leader Sarah Jane Evans MW.

£31.19 Bibendum

Familia Schroeder, Saurus, Select, Pinot Noir 2015, Patagonia, Argentina

Bronze medal winner

‘Light, fresh and likeable Pinot with plenty of strawberry fruit and smokiness, good length,’ said team leader Sarah Jane Evans MW, while Mattin Larraburu of Sexy Fish found it ‘super-light bodied, nicely perfumed with a good finish’.

£8.35 Ellis of Richmond

Elgin Vintners, Pinot Noir 2015, Elgin, South Africa

Bronze medal winner

Andrés Ituarte of Coq d’Argent enjoyed its ‘bright, crushed cranberry notes on the nose, unripe raspberry with peppery herbaceous flavours and long finish that reveals the wood, which is well integrated’.

£8.82 Gordon & MacPhail

Casa Valduga, Identidade, Pinot Noir 2015, Campanha, Brazil

Commended medal winner

Humberto Canale, Selección de Familia, Pinot Noir 2013, Patagonia , Argentina

Commended medal winner

£14.01 Enotria&Coe

Shannon, Rockview Ridge, Pinot Noir 2015, Elgin , South Africa

Commended medal winner

£15.78 Matthew Clark

Nitída, Pinot Noir 2015, Durbanville, South Africa

Commended medal winner