Top Pinot Noir wines outside Burgundy – Updated
We've rounded up some of the best Pinot Noir wines from beyond Burgundy's borders, as recently rated by our experts. Have you tried any of these?
It takes a certain amount of toil to make the best Pinot Noir wines; this is a grape variety affectionately known in winemaking circles for being relatively high maintenance in the vineyard.
Yet the rewards can be excellent and, while Burgundy remains the heartland – as well as a reference for many – several other regions around the world are making a name for themselves with Pinot.
‘Burgundy’s Côte d’Or and its wines can’t simply be transplanted by copying winemaking techniques,’ said Stephen Brook in the April 2016 issue of Decanter magazine.
‘Yet setting aside the Burgundian model, there are wines from the world over to reward Pinot fanciers. More time, more experience, better clonal or massal selections, greater vine age and a lighter touch in the winery will doubtless lead to impressive results.’
When young, Pinot Noir wines have red berry and fruit flavours, such as strawberry, cherry and raspberry. With age, they grow more complex, with bramble, mushroom and spice flavours developing.
Suited to cooler climates, Pinot Noir grows well in areas such as Oregon in the US, Central Otago in New Zealand and Mornington Peninsula in Australia and Santa Barbara in California – where factors like height and ocean influences help bring the surrounding temperatures down.
In the meantime, we’ve compiled a list below of our experts’ top scoring Pinot Noir wines. All have been rated at least 95 points and full tasting notes and ratings are available to Decanter Premium members.
Coming soon: Fresh reviews for Mornington Peninsula wines. We’ve included one below as a sneak preview.
Best Pinot Noirs outside Burgundy
New wine reviews added in 2018.
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Beaux Frères, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA, 2011
Fruit from the northern part of Willamette Valley, aged in French oak. Full and ripe on the palate, with raspberry aromas developing to truffle and...
2011
Beaux FrèresWillamette Valley
Bass Phillip, Reserve Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, 2012
Measly yields (around 270 grams of fruit per vine), the product of high density planting, account for Pinot pioneer and obsessive Phillip Jones’ success....
2012
Bass PhillipMornington Peninsula
Martinborough Vineyard Marie Zelie, Pinot Noir, Marie Zelie, Martinborough, Wairarapa, New Zealand, 2010
New Zealand’s most expensive Pinot. It’s a barrel selection made from the oldest Pinot vines in Martinborough and possibly New Zealand. Dense, rich and complex,...
2010
Martinborough Vineyard Marie Zelie
Fromm Clayvin, Pinot Noir, Marlborough, New Zealand, 2011
Powerful and scented in a restrained, elegant style. Pure, perfumed wine with a finegrained texture and very lengthy finish. It is approachable now but will...
2011
Fromm Clayvin
Felton Road, Pinot Noir, Calvert, Bannockburn, Central Otago, New Zealand, 2012
I found this wine hard to read when first poured, but it expanded in the glass to reveal a Pinot Noir of great power and...
2012
Felton Road
Kalin Cellars, Cuvée Billon Pinot Noir, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley, California, USA, 1994
The best North American Pinot Noir I’ve ever tasted, husband-and-wife team Terry and Frances Leighton produced only two barrels of this magical wine to commemorate...
1994
Kalin CellarsSonoma County
Errazuriz, Las Pizarras Pinot Noir, Aconcagua Valley, Chile, 2016
‘I want something more than pure fruit – I want structure, grip and bones,’ says Errazuriz winemaker and technical director Francisco Baettig. This Aconcagua Pinot...
2016
Errazuriz
Escarpment, Kupé Pinot Noir, Martinborough, Wairarapa, New Zealand, 2016
The Kupé vineyard was originally planted on its own roots in 1999, and is now slowly being replanted due to phylloxera - damn aphid. The...
2016
EscarpmentMartinborough
Ata Rangi, Pinot Noir, Martinborough, Wairarapa, New Zealand, 2013
Very attractive nose with lots of layers sweet hay, lavender, cherries/berries, iodine and Campari. A similar spectrum on the palate, which is very structured with...
2013
Ata RangiMartinborough
Rivers-Marie, Summa Vineyard Pinot Noir, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast, California, USA, 2012
The nose offers captivating aromatics of cinnamon, red cherry and blood orange. These are followed by a beautifully balanced, deep and sappy wine. While the...
2012
Rivers-MarieSonoma County
Eyrie Vineyards, South Block Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA, 2013
The 2013 South Block is superb, and it's hard to imagine it being anything other than Oregon's Pinot Noir of the vintage. A complex bouquet...
2013
Eyrie VineyardsWillamette Valley
Williams Selyem, Estate Vineyard Pinot Noir, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley, California, USA, 2009
Outstanding Williams Selyem’s Pinots show pert red and/or black fruit (depending on vineyard source) and crackling acidity. This bottling from its new estate vineyard...
2009
Williams SelyemSonoma County
Friedrich Becker, Schweigener Kammerberg Spätburgunder, Grosses Gewächs, Pfalz, Germany, 2016
The Kammerberg straddles the German-French border, thus creating an arch-European wine. Limestone bedrock and the masterful hands of Pinot-pioneer Friedrich Becker senior and his son...
2016
Friedrich BeckerGrosses Gewächs
Kutch, McDougall Ranch Pinot Noir, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast, California, USA, 2015
A beautiful and elegant Pinot Noir nose of red cherries, raspberry, kirsch liqueur and ripe rhubarb, giving an overall exotic and herbal complexity. Whole bunch...
2015
KutchSonoma County
Home Hill, Kelly's Reserve Pinot Noir, Huon Valley, Tasmania, Australia, 2012
Bright and youthful all round: red cherry, spice and coconut aromas; clean and vibrant. Elegant medium- weight palate, of succulent, sweet fruit – utterly delicious....
2012
Home Hill
Bernhard Huber, Hecklinger Schlossberg Spätburgunder, Grosses Gewächs, Baden, Germany, 2016
After the untimely death of his father Bernhard, young Julian Huber has continued in an even finer vein. Grown on a steep slope of weathered...
2016
Bernhard HuberGrosses Gewächs
Ten Minutes By Tractor, McCutcheon Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia, 2016
While the Wallis is more of black-fruited and opulent, and Coolart Road unusually dense and savoury, this vintage of the McCutcheon single-vineyard is beautifully balanced,...
2016
Ten Minutes By TractorMornington Peninsula
Domaine de la Côte, Blooms Field Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara County, California, USA, 2015
Cherry and cranberry fruit plus a herbal uplift dominate this whole bunch fermented Pinot Noir; it is complex and gamey with raw wild raspberry freshness....
2015
Domaine de la CôteSanta Barbara County
