Pinot Noir does not make life easy for growers.
It is thin-skinned, temperamental and unusually sensitive to where it grows.
That is also what makes it worth following.
Move Pinot Noir from Patagonia to Austria, then from the Sta. Rita Hills to the Russian River Valley, and you do not get the same wine four times.
You get four places speaking through one grape.
That is the idea behind our International Pinot Noir Day 4-Bottle Collection.
We brought together four distinctive Pinot Noirs from four very different corners of the wine world, giving you the chance to taste just how dramatically climate, soil and winemaking can shape the same grape.
Dominio Freneza “La Voja” Pinot Noir 2022 — Patagonia, Argentina
From Argentina’s cool Río Negro region, this hand-harvested Dijon 777 Pinot Noir is vibrant and precise, with wild strawberry, cherry, subtle herbs, bright acidity and a mineral backbone.
Weingut Topf Stangl HP Pinot Noir 2018 — Kamptal, Austria
From vines planted in 1990 on loess and gravel soils, this Austrian Pinot Noir ripens slowly in the lingering fog of Ried Stangl. After 24 months in French barrique, it emerges silky and layered, with cherry, blackcurrant, herbs and soft spice.
Alma Rosa “North Slope” Pinot Noir 2022 — Sta. Rita Hills, California
From the cool, windswept Sta. Rita Hills, where Pacific fog and afternoon breezes shape the vineyards, Alma Rosa’s North Slope is bright and lively with red fruit, flowers, citrus peel, lavender and mint. A streak of oceanic salinity runs through the palate, followed by fresh acidity and elegant tannins.
Banshee Trenton Vineyard Pinot Noir 2022 — Russian River Valley, California
From Sonoma’s fog-kissed Russian River Valley, this single-vineyard Pinot Noir brings raspberry bramble, fresh strawberry and pomegranate together with vanilla, baking spice, subtle oak and fine tannins.
Four bottles. Four places. One difficult grape.
Open them one at a time and travel from Patagonia to Austria to California over the course of a few dinners.
Better yet, put four glasses on the table, serve the wines slightly cool and taste them side by side.
The trip is already planned.
