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This tasting was quite unique as we sampled some top examples
of Southern Hemisphere Pinot Noir in the first ever Southern
Hemisphere Pinot Noir taste-off in Vancouver. We sourced prime
examples of Pinot Noir from each of the serious Southern Hemisphere
pinot producing countries, to identify common traits and differences.
The Pinot Noir grape originates in Burgundy. The grape's flavours
tend to have red cherry and raspberry with spice overtones. These
wines are typically medium bodied with a velvet texture.
 Our
reception wine was the Errazuriz Sauvignon Blanc from Chile. This
wine has a fresh citrus and green apple aromas, with a delicate
floral perfume. For those that enjoyed this wine, we tasted an
Errazuriz Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc in September 2001, which
had a wonderful concentrated taste of the above flavours.
Our
speaker at this evening's tasting was James Nevison of HalfaGlass.com.
He brought a unique, youthful perspective to the tastings. James
told us about the heritage of this grape, it's many problems (e.g.
thin skin, susceptibility to molds, genetic unstability which
has produced 200 - 1000 different clones that are used worldwide),
and why there is a love affair with the wine produced from this
grape.
Overall
the wines varied in style and intensity. There was some discussion
of how some of the wines, esp. the Shingle Peak and the Hamilton
Russell were Burgundian in style. We tasted the wines in pairs
from each country. The first two wines were from Chile. These
wines were deep in colour and had a range of aromas covering leather,
sage, and blackberries. The Valdiviseo had an earthy, spicy flavour.
The New Zealand Pinot Noirs were medium bodied. The Shingle Peak
had an earthy, cherry bouquet with some spice. The Morton Estate
was lighter than the Shingle Peak, soft on the palette with a
light cherry flavour.
I
would say that the South African Pinot Noirs were the most discussed
and highly regarded of all the wines. Hamilton Russell Vineyards
have been making wines in the cool-climate Walker Bay region of
South Africa since the early 1980s. They only grow Pinot Noir
and Chardonnay. James had mentioned that Hamilton Russell Vineyards
use organic farming methods. The Hamilton Russell wine isvery
complex. It has a light cherry red colour. The bouquet has earthiness,
coffee, cherry and maybe banana. There is a good balance and complexity
on the palate.
 The
Bouchard Finlayson winery was established in 1989 as a joint venture
between Paul Bouchard of Burgundy and South African winemaker
Peter Finlayson (who made his reputation working as winemaker
for neighbours Hamilton Russell). This winery is also located
in the Walker Bay region of South Africa. The climate of Walker
Bay is largely influenced by the cold Atlantic Ocean making it
one of the coolest wine growing areas in the Cape. This wine has
a medium cherry red colour. The bouquet shows herbal notes and
some light earthiness (not to the same extent as the Hamilton
Russell). The flavour has some herb, oak and cherry notes.
Lastly
we had our two Australian Pinot Noir wines. Both wines were much
lighter in colour and flavour to any of the other wines. Overall
people agreed that these two wines taste better when paired with
food. The Scotchmans Hill had a mixed bouquet of strawberries,
violet and earthiness. The Stonier Reserve had light ripe fruit
on the nose, and had a light finish with some flowery tones.
 Tasting
Selection
Our favourite Pinot Noir wines are:
1.Hamilton Russell 2001, SA
2. Stonier Reserve 1998, Mornington Pen, Aus.
The
Hamilton Russell 2001 Pinot Noir is not currently available in BC.
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