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Our top 12 Pinot Noirs of 2022
Having published the results in full from 2022’s Global Pinot Noir Masters, we reveal our top 12 picks from the competition, taking in fine Pinots from Pommard to Marlborough, and a couple of celebrity-backed bottles too.
Scroll down to see some of the top-scoring drops from this year’s competition, which we’ve chosen to take in the more affordable options, along with the high-priced blockbusters.
Meanwhile, to read a full report on this year’s Global Pinot Noir Masters, featuring all the medallists, then click here.
TRINITY OAKS PINOT NOIR
Producer: Trinity Oaks Wines
Country: United States
Region: California
Vintage: 2020
UK retail price: £9.99
It’s rare to find Pinot Noir on the retail shelf for under a tenner, let alone a good one, but this sub-£10 Pinot from Trinity Oaks delivers an appealing expression of this pernickety grape for an unusually low price. There’s some cherry jam and ripe strawberry, tomato, and dried herbs, with toast, pepper and coconut too, in a style of red that’s lively but far from light or dilute. A Gold for its price category.
KYLIE MINOGUE COLLECTION PINOT NOIR
Producer: De Bortoli
Country: Australia
Region: Yarra Valley
Vintage: 2020
UK retail price: £20
Having started with pink wines and Prosecco, Kylie Minogue’s ‘Collection’ has expanded to include a Pinot Noir, and a particularly fine and delicate one at that. Made by highly regarded Australian producer De Bortoli, it employs grapes from the Yarra Valley to yield an affordable and pretty expression of Pinot Noir, with tomato and cherry fruit, a touch of dried mint, then blood orange on the dry, gently tannic refreshing finish.
CONO SUR 20 BARRELS PINOT NOIR 2019
Producer: Cono Sur
Country: Chile
Region: Casablanca Valley
Vintage: 2019
UK retail price: £14
Chile’s Cono Sur is a master of reliably good and affordable Pinot Noir, from its entry-point Bicicleta to ‘icon’ example Ocio. In between those two price extremes is 20 Barrels, representing a good-value taste of an excellent, structured, medium-weight Pinot Noir. Costing just under £15, there’s lots of character for the cash, from black cherry to dried herb, cranberry to tomato, and a background note of toast and vanilla, which lingers on this wine’s long, dry, finely tannic finish.
LEEFIELD STATION PINOT NOIR
Producer: Marisco Vineyards Ltd
Country: New Zealand
Region: Marlborough
Vintage: 2020
UK retail price: £18.99 (not in UK)
From Marisco, the maker of first-rate Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, comes this excellent New Zealand Pinot Noir. It’s loaded with pure, ripe, red berry fruit, from cherry to raspberry, and a touch of cranberry too, along with some white chocolate and a delicate, slightly minty, herbal edge. A lovely, ripe and refreshing style of Pinot, that delivers a lot of flavour for less than £20.
BOTHAM 78 SERIES PINOT NOIR
Producer: Maude Wines
Country: New Zealand
Region: Central Otago
Vintage: 2019
UK retail price: £15
Having made such a success with Chardonnay and Shiraz from Australia, Sir Ian Botham has headed for New Zealand when it comes to Pinot Noir, using grapes from Maude Wines in Central Otago to craft this fine expression. It’s a summer pudding-like mix of flavours, with blackberry and raspberry bringing depth and freshness to the wine, complemented by notes of creamy chocolate and then a touch of dried herb, cherry stone and a gently biting cranberry finish that cleanses the mouth as the ripe red and dark fruit characters slowly subside.
KENDALL-JACKSON VINTNERS RESERVE PINOT NOIR
Producer: Jackson Family Wines
Country: United States
Region: California
Vintage: 2019
UK retail price: £19.50
The source of America’s bestselling barrel-fermented Chardonnay – Jackson Family Wines – is also the producer behind this brilliant, sub-£20 Pinot Noir, which comes under the famous Kendall-Jackson Vintners Reserve brand. It’s an instantly satisfying, fleshy style of Pinot, with some toast and caramel notes complementing the flavours of ripe strawberry and tomato concentrate, a hint of sage and cranberry juice, with a lingering note of chocolate on the finish. In short, it’s a soft but bright easy-to-drink Pinot, with plenty of appealing barrel-derived characters.
ESTATE PINOT NOIR
Producer: Lethbridge Wines
Country: Australia
Region: Geelong
Vintage: 2019
UK retail price: £30
Among the first-rate Pinot Noir producers from Australia, Lethbridge is a name to remember. In this Estate expression, Lethbridge uses fruit from its beautifully-tended, biodynamically-farmed property in Geelong, Victoria, to yield a wine that’s floral and fruity, and ripe, but delicate too. There’s some dark cherry fruit, and redder notes too, from raspberry to tomato, along with a touch of plum, dried mint and cedar in this fine example of New World Pinot.
JOEL GOTT OREGON PINOT NOIR
Producer: Joel Gott Wines
Country: United States
Region: Willamette Valley
Vintage: 2019
UK retail price: £29.99
A consistent Gold medallist in our annual Pinot Noir Masters, Joel Gott seems able to capture the bright, mouthwatering cherry and plum character of Oregon Pinot without charging a high price, by this sought-after region’s standards. Complementing the juicy-fresh fruit is a touch of caramel, toast and some quite firm – if fine – tannin, to give a pleasingly dry finish to this layered and lifted Pinot.
MARIMAR ESTATE LA MASIA PINOT NOIR
Producer: Marimar Estate
Country: United States
Region: Russian River Valley
Vintage: 2018
UK retail price: £44.99
A brilliant producer of fine Pinot Noirs from California, Marimar Estate – which is owned by famous Spanish wine leviathan Torres – has impressed us again, and this time with its La Masia expression, which uses grapes from the Russian River. Ripe, but far from heavy, there are flavours of chocolate and cherry, with some dried grass, tomato and toast, complemented by a medium-weight mouthfeel, and a dry, finely tannic finish to ensure you salivate, and desire another sip.
HYDE VINEYARD PINOT NOIR
Producer: Patz & Hall
Country: United States
Region: California
Vintage: 2019
UK retail price: £75
Using Pinot Noir from this hugely sought-after site in the Napa Valley – the Hyde Vineyard – is this exceptional wine from Patz & Hall. Loaded with fleshy dark cherry, ripe strawberry, sweet blood orange, and some tomato, chocolate and vanilla, it’s a big, layered Pinot, but, with plenty of bright acidity and fine-grained dry tannin, it’s also a wonderfully mouthwatering wine.
HAHN SLH PINOT NOIR
Producer: Hahn Family Wines
Country: United States
Region: Santa Lucia Highlands (Monterey County)
Vintage: 2019
UK retail price: £40
It’s hard not to love this Pinot Noir, a top expression from Hahn, called SLH – standing for Santa Lucia Highlands, where the fruit hails from. And that’s because it has such depth and richness, but brightness too, mixing fleshy black cherry and ripe raspberry with cedar and bay leaf, milk chocolate, coconut husk and blood orange, even a touch of rock salt, all of which is framed by firm fine tannins and bright acidity, ensuring this powerful Pinot remains refreshing.
CLOS MAREY-MONGE MONOPOLE
Producer: Château de Pommard
Country: France
Region: Burgundy
Vintage: 2019
UK retail price: £142
It may come as little surprise that our most expensive Pinots of this year ’s competition were from Burgundy, but it is not a given that they should be the best. However, in this year’s Pinot Noir Masters, some of the highest scores were awarded to Château de Pommard, whose wines may not have the fruit richness of their Californian rivals, but offer a drinking experience that is unlike any other. It’s the combination of complexity and texture that sets a wine like this apart, which offers plenty of colour and fruit, and tannin, but also delicacy, and refinement, and so many layers of flavour that seem to linger for minutes. In terms of characters, there’s fleshy red berry, cherry compote, some red apple and cranberry too, then subtle notes of creamy chocolate, as well as vanilla. Yes it’s a pricy Côte de Beaune, but it’s a delicious drop that’s drinking beautifully now, and may get better still with more time in the cellar.
About the competition
With high-quality judges and a unique sampling process, The Global Pinot Noir Masters provides a chance for your wines to star.
The 2022 competition was judged on 17 March at The Hippodrome, London, employing experienced judges. The top wines were awarded Gold, Silver, or Bronze medals according to their result, and those expressions that stood out as being outstanding in their field received the ultimate accolade – the title of Pinot Noir Master. This report features the medal winners only.
Please visit The Global Masters website for more information, or, to enter future competitions – giving you the chance to feature online and in print – please call: +44 (0) 20 7803 2420 or email Sophie Raichura at: sophie@thedrinksbusiness.com