Pinot Noir
Wine 1:
Villa Maria “Taylor’s Pass” Pinot Noir 2020 - 14% ABV
Region: Marlborough, New Zealand
Although primarily known for producing wines from the Sauvignon Blanc grape, Marlborough, New Zealand is also able to produce outstanding quality wines from the Pinot Noir grape. The grapes for this wine were harvested from the “Taylor’s Pass” vineyard, which is in a warm region in an otherwise cool maritime climate, along the banks of the Awatere river. Although harvested from a single vineyard, the site contains a range of soil types, and the producers have planted a wide variety of Pinot Noir clones that are harvested and fermented separately before being blended together to create a complex and nuanced wine. After fermentation the wine is matured for 14 months in French oak barrels, of which 36% is new French oak, and then the wine is allowed to settle in stainless steel tanks for 8 months prior to bottling and distribution.
Wine 2:
Domaine Guillon Gevrey-Chambertin ‘La Perriere’ Premier Cru 2018 - 14% ABV
Region: Gevrey-Chambertin, Côte de Nuits, Burgundy, France
Pinot Noir accounts for over a third of the total vineyard area in Burgundy, and Gevry-Chambertin isone of the well known villages in the northernmost part of the Côte de Nuits. The grapes for this wine are harvested from the ‘La Perriere’ Premier cru vineyard, and the vines are planted mid-slope on east and southeast facing slopes, increasing the amount of heat and sunlight the grapes receive in the cool continental climate. The wine is fermented with the grapes as whole clusters, allowing for greater extraction of color and tannin, as well as increasing the intensity of the aromas and flavors in the resulting wine. After fermentation, this wine is matured in 100% new French oak barrels prior to bottling and distribution.
Pinot Noir is a thin-skinned, early-budding red grape from Burgundy that’s famously picky about where it grows—and wonderfully transparent to place when it’s happy. Translating to ‘Black Pinecone’, Pinot Noir grapes are naturally pale in color, producing wines with moderate levels of alcohol and fine, silky tannins. It tends to have aromas of red fruits (cherry, raspberry, strawberry), violet floral notes, and subtle earthy aromas, such as mushroom, leather, and forest floor, gaining spice notes through maturation in oak vessels. When grown in cool climates Pinot Noir tends to have bright acidity and aromatic; in warmer regions it ripens further, developing darker fruit notes. It is the primary grape variety in Burgundy along with Chardonnay, and it is key component in traditional-method sparkling wines, made in Champagne and elsewhere around the world.
Both wines presented in this blind tasting feature the expected aromas and flavors of cherry, raspberry, and forest floor, and both have intense and complex aromas and flavors. The Villa Maria Pinot Noir achieves this through blending the many clones that are planted on the various soil types in the Taylor’s Pass vineyard, whereas the Domaine Guillon has a heightened intensity and firmer structure due to its whole cluster fermentation. Both wines are matured in French oak barrels after maturation, imparting aromas and flavors of vanilla, coconut, and cedar to the wine, however the Domaine Guillon is matured in a significantly higher percentage of new French oak barrels, meaning that the intensity of those aromas and flavors is much higher. You will also notice the brighter, riper fruit in the warmer climate New Zealand Pinot, characteristic of wine ripened with more sunlight exposure.
