Pinot Noir from France and Italy
by Tom Wolf
As a rule of thumb at KLWM, we prize wines made from grapes that are indigenous to or traditional in a given region. We look for Chenin Blanc in the Loire Valley, Sangiovese in Tuscany, and Syrah in the northern Rhône. We rarely seek out bottles featuring famous grape varieties planted where they don’t have a time-honored and deeply ingrained culture. But every now and then, we do come across a gorgeous, terroir-driven Sauvignon Blanc from Alto Adige or Chardonnay from Friuli, and we can’t resist. After all, certain grape varieties are exceptionally chameleon-like, able to reflect the unique beauty of their surroundings as much as or more so than any core flavor profile of their own.
Arguably no grape epitomizes this more than Pinot Noir. The terroir transparency of Pinot Noir has made its home region, Burgundy, so fascinating and rewarding to dissect, given the countless expressions of the grape depending on the vine’s microclimate, soil, exposure, and elevation, among other factors. As it has made its way farther and farther outside of Burgundy over the centuries, Pinot Noir’s character has differentiated itself even more, resulting in a dizzying range of wines, from elegant and ethereal to ripe and intense. The wines below come from regions where this grape has thrived for a long time as well as from relative newcomers. All exquisite in their own way, they offer a vast range of the possibilities of Pinot Noir.
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