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.
