New World: Pinot Noir, USA & Canada
2016 Gold: 3 Silver: 4 Bronze: 0 Commended: 4
2015 Gold: 0 Silver: 4 Bronze: 4 Commended: 3
Now this was interesting. Seven medals for North American Pinot was a record. Three Golds was a record. And in case these two nuggets of information don’t raise your eyebrows northwards, how about the fact that in this year’s Sommelier Wine Awards the US secured more places on the Gold List with its Pinots than it did with its Cabernets.
We’d be hard pushed to say that they’re cheap – the lowest-priced medal winner was still over £16. But for a certain type of venue and a certain type of sommelier, there’s clearly something in these wines that is totally worth pursuing.
We covered a fair distance here, from Oregon down to the Santa Rita Hills, and went stylistically from light and elegant to bigger and richer. Yet the good news is that they were all genuine (and genuinely good) expressions of Pinot Noir. They’re interesting, expressive and really well balanced. Rather than just getting bigger as they got more expensive, they became more complex and interesting.
And as some of our tasters pointed out, customers will pay big money for this stuff, even by the glass.
FROM THE TASTING TEAMS
‘There was good typicity of New World Pinot Noir here: rich, ripe red fruit profiles, generous use of oak, a bit of sweetness on the palate.’ Annette Scarfe MW, team leader
‘You saw the difference in quality immediately as you went from the £15 bottles to the £20-plus bottles.’ Kelvin McCabe, Yauatcha City
‘New World wines often copy the style of Burgundy, but they’re better value most of the time.’ Mattia Scarpazza, Petersham Nurseries Café
‘I’m selling a Russian River Pinot Noir by the glass. Even though it’s £27, people order a second glass.’ Olivier Marie, team leader
“I have a Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir by the glass in a Michelin-star restaurant. People are curious to try it but no one has been disappointed.” Andre Luis Martins, The Cavalry and Guards Club
“There’s a lot of interesting stuff coming out of the US.” Andre Luis Martins, The Cavalry and Guards Club