New World: Pinot Noir, USA & Canada
2018 Gold 2 Silver 1 Bronze 3 Commended 5
2017 Gold 2 Silver 4 Bronze 4 Commended 2
This was a conflicted category. Some great wines, some execrable; some that our tasters knew the public would love more than they did; some that had too much fruit for their own good; and a fair few that didn’t remotely justify the price. And yet through it all, from a relatively small entry, we found two wines for our Gold List – one of them a Critics Choice.
The US, clearly, can do good Pinot Noir. That it does it at a price (and sometimes with a bit too much self-regard) is also obvious – though the MacMurray for £11 was the kind of punter-friendly version of Pinot that ought to be on every gastropub’s radar.
What was surprising (and slightly disappointing) about this year’s results was how north California-centred it all was; lots of Sonoma and Russian River wines, but very few from the Southern Valleys. And just about nothing from Oregon – which, perhaps, is the most sommelier-friendly Pinot region outside Burgundy.
FROM THE TASTING TEAMS
‘Loads of people lap up that fruity, jammy style of Pinot Noir. For some of us that loses what’s good about the grape, but a customer could say “Then I don’t like your kind of Pinot.” I felt like I was trying to project my taste in Pinot on these.’ Charlie Young, Vinoteca
‘Pinot Noir is about elegance and refinement, while these are in-your-face wines, but you can see why people buy them. California is hard because the wines are very expensive in general, so that entry £15 price point isn’t very exciting, but if you want a list of American wines you need some of those. You can’t start your list at £130.’ Andres Ituarte, Le Coq d’Argent