The passion, places and personality of Pinot Noir
The Passion of Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir is a thin-skinned red grape variety that grows best in cool climate regions of the world and requires patience in the vineyard and passion in the winery to reach its potential, being one of the most popular light-bodied red wines and renowned for its versatility in food pairings. It is also a major component of many of the world’s great sparkling wines and French champagnes. The name derives from the French words for pine (the shape of the tightly clustered bunches of fruit) and black (the skin colour).
The Places
Pinot Noir grapes are grown mostly in the cooler climates of the world. Burgundy in France is known as the original cultivation area for Pinot Noir. Other areas also well known for this variety include Tapiz in Argentina, California and Oregon in USA, Ahr in Germany, Northern Italy and the Central Otago and Marlborough regions in New Zealand. In recent years Australia has also made its mark as a producer of exceptional Pinot Noir. The most important regions in this regard are the cool climate areas of Australia including Gippsland, Mornington Peninsula and Yarra Valley in Victoria, Adelaide Hills in South Australia, Tasmania, Pemberton and the Denmark, Albany and Porongurup sub-regions of the Great Southern of Western Australia.
The Personality
Clones
There are 16 significant clones of Pinot Noir planted in vineyards in Australia. The “Mother Clone”, designated MV6 is unique to Australia and is said to have been propagated from cuttings derived from the famous Clos Vougeot vineyard in Burgundy.
This was followed by clones developed by University California Davis (eg D5V12, colloquially referred to as having an “upright habit”) and these were used in many of the early Pinot Noir vineyards, while most subsequent plantings were of Dijon clones (eg 777, referred to as having a “droopy habit”) which make up most of the vineyards today.
The Singlefile Pinot Noir vineyard comprises equal plantings of the D5V12 and 777 clones.
Viticulture
Pinot Noir is a notoriously fickle variety that is difficult to cultivate and early budding makes it susceptible to Spring frosts. It has delicate, thin skinned berries susceptible to disease and bird damage. At Singlefile extreme measures need to be taken to exclude birds from the vineyard (the geese are also particularly energetic in accessing any or all of the crop they can harvest for themselves). Even-temperature days and cold nights are ideal to retain natural acidity in the fruit and allow full flavours to develop. In this respect and many others, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay share similar characteristics, which makes the Great Southern (and the Singlefile vineyard) a perfect location for both varieties.
Winemaking
Pre-fermentation cold soaks are used to enhance aromatics. Whole bunch fermentation and stem inclusion techniques are used to add structure and complexity. The wine is aged in approximately 40% new and 60% used pinot selection French oak barrels for approximately 8 months.
Flavour profile
Pinot Noir wines are light to medium bodied with signature cherry and strawberry fruit, earthiness and spice. They are best enjoyed in specially designed balloon-shaped glassware which amplifies the aroma and enjoyment of the flavour. Pinot Noir is best paired with duck, chicken, pork or mushrooms.
The Pinot Noir at Singlefile
Singlefile’s range includes three styles of Pinot Noir, one of which is a sparkling from a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Singlefile’s Run Free Pinot Noir is a relatively light style of Pinot Noir compared with the medium bodied food friendly Single Vineyard Pemberton Pinot Noir.
The Run Free Pinot Noir displays lifted aromas of sour cherries and spice with savoury forest floor notes. The palate is smooth with subtle texture. Cherry flavours are supported by earthy and spice notes, with well-integrated silky tannins leading to a long savoury finish.
The Single Vineyard Mount Barker Pinot Noir is a medium bodied pinot with lifted aromas of forest floor, red berries and spice. These characters follow through on the palate with a gently textured mouth feel and soft, subtly grippy tannins. This wine is well suited to complement game or light red meat dishes.
Available exclusively to our Wine Club members, the Single Vineyard Porongurup Pinot Noir is a seductive, savoury styled pinot with lifted aromas of sour cherries, herbs and spices. These characters follow through on the palate with a moreish, medium weight and textured mouth feel with forest floor characters, soft, silky tannins and a long finish. Oak sits in the background.
Our Family Reserve Denmark Pinot Noir is grown on our Denmark estate vineyard in the cool microclimate of the Scotsdale valley, showcases elegant varietal flavour as well as the nuances of the site. A layered style of pinot noir which is slightly more powerful in style than our Single Vineyard offerings, with lovely dark fruit flavours complemented by complex savoury and whole bunch character.
