There is one thing that all wine lovers fear most in the world: blind tastings. Even the most educated palate can look foolish when wearing a blindfold. As a case in point, I was recently at a dinner with seven collectors who communally possess about 250 years of experience with fine wines. After nosing and slurping a mystery wine, none of us correctly identified it as a Chardonnay, which is one of the most popular and recognizable grapes in the world.
Therefore you can understand my jitters when I was invited to a blind tasting of Pinot Noir at Lifford Wine Agency’s annual charity bash, Boys’ Night Out. The blind tasting featured four Pinots from California, South Australia, Central Otago (in New Zealand) and Burgundy, France. The simple game was to guess which Pinot came from where.
Pinot Noir is perhaps the best grape for this kind of a game because it is celebrated for being a grape that doesn’t have a strong intrinsic flavour of its own; it captures the essence of the land from which it comes — the “terroir.” As wine critic Anthony Gismondi has said, “Pinot should taste like the place, not like Pinot.”
So how do you decide in a blind tasting whether a Pinot comes from the historical vineyards of France or the foggy hills of Santa Barbara? The easiest technique is to focus on some clear clues:
- Cool climates like New Zealand and France (and Ontario) create the classic Pinot Noir. Look for fruity flavours that are crisp, bright and not too heavy. Cool climate Pinot Noir will taste more like tart cherries than sweet raspberries.
- Conversely, warm climates like Australia or California impart a distinctive jammy-ness to Pinot Noir, like stewed fruit. Some purists despise this rounder version of the wine, but it can be quite delicious.
- If Pinot grapes are exposed to too much sun, they can begin tasting like Coca-Cola. You can easily pick out cheap Aussie Pinots if they taste like they could accommodate a shot of rum and a cocktail umbrella.
- Pinot Noir from Burgundy is usually the most elegant. “Elegance” is difficult to define, but essentially it means that the wine is light and the flavours don’t come on strongly, but there is still complexity and character.
- New Zealand also produces a light, elegant Pinot Noir. But it has a peppery quality that is entirely unique. Some have said that if you detect a hint of celery salt in your Pinot, that means it comes from New Zealand.
Stay tuned next week when I will give detailed tasting notes of the four premium Pinot Noir that I tasted. Plus, I’ll reveal whether or not I came close to guessing which one was which.
Matthew Sullivan is a civil litigator in Toronto. He writes a weekly blog entry here on lawandstyle.ca. The Short Cellar column appears in the print edition of Precedent. Matthew can be reached at n matthew@lawandstyle.beta-site.ca. Follow along on Twitter: @shortcellar.