New World: Pinot Noir - USA
2019 Gold 4 Silver 6 Bronze 1 Commended 7
2018 Gold 2 Silver 1 Bronze 3 Commended 5
After a presence in the early years of the Sommelier Wine Awards that was so under the radar as to be almost non-existent, the North American wines are starting to make their presence felt – and nowhere more so than with Pinot.
It might seem extraordinary that California – home to the giant fruit-and-oak Cab bomb – can also make good Pinot, but let’s just say that Sideways had a big impact. The past 15 years have seen serious winemakers from Russian River to Niagara and Oregon to the Okanagan working assiduously at getting something good out of this most tricksy of grape varieties.
And they’re succeeding, too. Of course, these are not Burgundian in style. But our tasters here were neither expecting that nor bothered about it; they liked what was there and didn’t have a problem with the idea of listing them – even at prices that pretty much started at £20 and headed north from there.
Classy, sassy, glossy and with twice as many medals as last year… this is a category to watch.
FROM THE TASTING TEAMS
‘The brightest ones were at the middle price points, around £20-£25, where they were impressive, and what I’d consider value for money. It’s a bit more dangerous at the more expensive end, considering its competitors.’ Quentin Loisel, Restaurant Sat Bains
‘This was a very good flight, with chunky styles that were high in alcohol and very ripe – a meaty type of Pinot Noir that’s not Burgundian in style.’ Olivier Gasselin, Hakkasan
‘I’ve found a more Burgundian style from the US in recent years, and thought that trend would continue, but it seems they’re back to the old style. Some had a lot of concentration and extraction, but they still had good acidity, and weren’t overly cooked or overly extracted.’ Tomasz Kuszneruk, Pavilion Wine
‘We know that these are already in the upper bracket in terms of cost, so expectation is always high. These had savouriness on the nose, and elegant tannins.’ Marco Marcuzzo, Aster Restaurant
‘There were some flavour profiles here that you wouldn’t find elsewhere, with freshness, too. You get a lot more out of the oak than you do in the Old World, so they’re quite useful. There were a lot of red meat pairings here, and even on the cured-meat side too. The lighter styles would go with pork.’ Jordan Moore, Trullo
‘This is an exciting category when it doesn’t try to be too much like Burgundy. It’s positioned as a premium category. I was impressed with the style and suave nature of a lot of these.’ Joshua Castle, Noble Rot