Decanter Cellar: 18 must-try Pinot Noirs

From Pommard clone vines on a north-facing block cooled by a wind that blows through the site; only about 7% whole-cluster fermentation in an oak vat, followed by 18 months in 70% new French oak barrels. Pungent aromatics of violets and turned earth, gorgeous blue fruits, mushrooms. It's gloriously charming, and the texture is wholly of elegance and delicacy. Soy and smoked sea salt, concentrated wild bramble fruits. The most complete Pinot Noir effort I've tasted from the Willamette Valley in 2021.

Judging the 2022 Wildenstein in its youth is like gazing into a crystal ball: you can sense its great future and longevity, but you can’t truly grasp the wine itself yet. It is almost hiding behind an inky style, with graphite notes and a curtain of floral hints and raspberry fruit. Only over the next few years will it open up and reveal its countless facets. Patience will be rewarded with greatness.

Bounds out of the glass with a lifted, floral perfume – spicy orange peel notes and plenty of generous fruit. The palate has lots of charm and immediacy, too. Plenty of midweight fruit, lots of vibrancy and energy. A good firm structure, with dry, savoury tannins that nicely offset the springy, spritely fruit. Excellent length. Inviting and ready to enjoy now though well placed to age gracefully. Organic.

Nose is pretty closed but there are intriguing, inviting flashes of earth, graphite, blue florals, damson plum, cherry and wild raspberry. Quite a silky, sweet-fruited attack, then dense and savoury. A definite step up in concentration. The oak has been swallowed up and the tannin structure is more polished and riper than the other wines; no shortage of them either. Focused, long and silky.

Deep violet tones from this special clonal bottling from Doc' Ranch. The original block at Doc's comprises Swan clone planted in the mid-90s, and then Calera was planted in 2000. This blend of half-old vine and half-younger vine bottling—darker red and blue fruits and an elegant, rich floral note frame the aromatics. The palate is sleek, with cool blue and taut black berries, a note of sweet cherry and a finish that leans into rich umami—another delicious and fresh effort from Cobb.

This wine's bright mineral snap, ripe black cherry fruit aromas and hints of liquorice and smoke are all immensely attractive. The texture is firmly tannic and dense but eminently approachable young. The grapes are from 0.15ha of limestone scree replanted in 2000; half are fermented as whole clusters, and the wine is ageing in cask, 30% new. Once bottled, give this wine five to seven years and drink over the next 30. Biodynamic.

Probably Shane Moore's favourite wine, the blocks that go into this provide the wine with fantastic acidity. Dropstone references the glacial erratics, and there is almost no new wood year over year. The Dropstone is all about expressing power without oak or alcohol; it shows the concentration and pure fruit character of Pinot Noir from here in the Willamette Valley and the Yamhill Carlton. Intensity of fruit and character. 80-90% from the winery site, and "linear travel across the midpalate" gorgeous crushed strawberries, mint, white pepper, violets and exotic spices. It's a hell of a wine.

Light to medium plum coloured, Barnabooth has red fruit notes plus touches of toast. There's a lovely seductive, mouthfilling texture with the Pinot Noir character to the fore, a delicate ripe structure and a long refreshing finish. Very well balanced with ageing potential. This cuvée comes from a single vineyard with a mix of soils – mainly sand with some loam and clay – and the grapes are hand picked and vinified in stainless steel. The Pinot Noir spends 10 months in oak; the Gamay is kept in stainless steel. The 10ha domaine, founded in 1880, was in a poor state when bought in 2020 by the new ambitious owners. The domaine's Tressalier from the 2022 vintage is also good.

Thierry Richoux is considered the best producer of Irancy, and has now been joined by sons Gabin and Félix. This is a spectacular example of the potential for Pinot Noir in Irancy. The palate is chock-full of vibrant, sweet, red berry fruit with a hint of mushroom and forest floor in the background. Brimming with purity, freshness and concentration. In a blind tasting this could easily be a youthful example (say 2022) from a top site in the Côte d'Or. But it's from Kimmeridgian clay in the cool climate of the Yonne, aged for 12 months in stainless steel tanks and 14 months in oak barrels. Joyous Pinot Noir and remarkable value for money, with plenty of stuffing for further ageing. Organic.

Sourced from Perli Vineyards in the Mendocino Ridge AVA, this Pinot Noir undergoes native fermentation and is aged for 17 months in 40% new French oak. Brooding dark cherry fruit emerges from the glass, accompanied by deep conifer, orange peel, and rich loamy earth notes. Medium-bodied, it is framed by perfectly ripe tannins and excellent lacy acidity. Enticing red fruit and spice characters are more subtle and refined than in previous vintages, delivering real elegance with intensity. This is one of the most balanced and expressive Pinot Noirs crafted from the Perli Vineyards site in this vintage. A masterful effort from this high-elevation vineyard, known for producing ripe wines, winemaker David Milner, has achieved a remarkable balance of vibrant fruit, fresh acidity, and firm tannin structure. It is an exceptional wine that captures the vineyard's potential with finesse.

Marika and Sandro Sperk are the second generation at the helm of this winery founded by Marika's father in 1986. They're most known for opulent expressions of Chardonnay and Pinot varieties grown on the steep, south facing Freyburger Edelacker. Shell-limestone soils in this single-vineyard site lend a bristling edge of acidity to pert red berry and cherry flavours here. While rich and textured, this flagship bottling is thrillingly fine and filigreed too. VDP and Breitengrad 51 member.

Laissez Faire is a ‘hands-off’ range with, ‘as little as possible between the vine and the finished wine'. And this haunting Pinot is a thing of beauty. Wonderful fragrance – from the rosemary stemminess to the autumnal woodsmoke and summer berry fruit. The palate is juicy and round but also elegantly bittersweet. Very accomplished, with wonderful clarity and complexity.

Smells very fragrant, blackcurrant, bramble fruit, darm plums and candle wax - something creamy about the nose too. Vertical and bright, a shot of high acidity sets the tone with sleek tannins that support the fruit. This feels wide but in a straight up and down way rather than out to the sides. Clean and clear, nice vibrancy and certainly more concentrated dark bramble fruit than summer berry fruit. I love the crystalline nature. Compact but clean, this is interesting finishing with a slatey, chocolatey, blueberry graphite ending.

The La Brune label was founded in 2011 by Nico Grobler and his wife Christelle, who made their first Pinot Noir with one ton of grower fruit. Today the couple own an estate in cool Elgin, run on a Burgundian model. Their Pinot from the rainier-than-usual 2023 vintage – 'one for the purists not the masses' according to Nico – is mineral and fresh, with vibrant acidity and bright cherry fruit balanced by earthier base notes. Incredible purity of fruity. Aged for 12 months in used Burgundy barrels. Only 2,400 bottles produced.

The Wismer vineyard is a jewel of the Twenty Mile Bench, and the Parke sub-section just one of a raft of single-site Pinots (and Chardonnays, and Gamays) Bachelder produces. A balsamic hint adds intrigue to restrained, autumnal spiced cherry fruit, giving a sappy, satisfying mouthful.

Deliciously complex Pinot Noir from 40-year-old vines, which are sustainably farmed. The vineyards of this cuvée are situated in two different soil profiles. 50% of this wine comes from the ‘Terres Blanches and the other half from a rocky limestone soil known as ‘Cailottes. Gorgeously smoky, with hints of church candles, dried rose petals and dried wild lavender. The palate is sleek, with wild red fruits, fresh savoury herbs, streaks of graphite, and turned earth minerality—a heady Pinot Noir.

Developing in the glass. Savoury Pinot nose of forest floor and mushroom. Smoky, slightly lean palate with sappy, sour cherry notes and a drying finish. Rounded, and stylish.