By bringing together over 350 examples from 16 countries to be
scrutinised by some of the trade’s most experienced MW and MS palates,
The Drinks Business Pinot Noir Global Masters offered a perfect
opportunity to assess the status quo.
One thing the results made abundantly clear is that top quality
examples of this grape variety can now come from just about any of the
world’s major wine producing regions. Represented among this year’s gold
medal winners were New Zealand, South Africa, Austria, Australia,
Chile, Germany and Italy. Although both California and Oregon failed to
achieve the same level of accolade as last year, they were nevertheless
well represented in the medal table along with Romania, France,
Argentina, Canada, Bulgaria, Spain, Switzerland and indeed England.
“My overall impression is that the competition is hotting up,“
remarked Sebastian Payne MW, buyer for The Wine Society. “There seem to
be more and more places all over the world getting things right.” While
noting the particular strength of New Zealand, whose clutch of gold
medals and a Master proved its ongoing prowess, Payne added: “Countries
like South Africa and Chile show steady improvement, and there were some
surprisingly good wines at under £10 a bottle, which used to be a price
point to avoid for Pinot Noir.”
Results for South Africa:
Cederberg | Ghost Corner Pinot Noir | 2013 | South Africa | Gold
Bouchard Finlayson | Tête de Cuvée Pinot Noir | 2012 | South Africa | Gold
Domaine des Dieux | Josephine Pinot Noir | 2011 | South Africa | Silver
Bottega Family Wines | Whalehaven Conservation Coast Pinot Noir | 2013 | South Africa | Silver
Hamilton Russell Vineyards | Pinot Noir | 2013 South Africa | Silver
Bouchard Finlayson | Galpin Peak Pinot Noir | 2013 | South Africa | Silver
Iona | Mr P | 2013 | South Africa | Bronze
The Goose Wines | Pinot Noir | 2012 | South Africa | Bronze
Iona | Pinot Noir | 2013 | South Africa | Bronze
To read more, click here