Vin pinot noir : onze origines, un seul cépage
193 bouteilles, de 11,50 € à 330,00 €The section brings together Pinot Noirs from eleven countries, from €11.50 to €330.00, with a median of €49.90. France comes first, with cuvées that are all from Burgundy, ahead of the United States, New Zealand, Argentina, Australia, South Africa and Chile. Switzerland, Germany, Italy and Austria bring up the rear.
The first table compares six major origins, with what their climate does to the wine and the price range in our cellar. The second explains what each price tier really buys, from the fruit-driven cuvée at €12.50 to grand cru plots. Two points before choosing: a good part of the section is sold individually and the rest in packs, and a few bottles are sparkling wines in which Pinot Noir is part of the blend. The Burgundies are gathered in the Burgundy section.
Domaine Nico - Histoire d'A Pinot Noir 2022
A fine and precise Argentinian high-altitude Pinot Noir, where Andean freshness meets Burgundian elegance.
Paul Cluver - Pinot Noir Village 2023
A precise and elegant Pinot Noir from Elgin, combining freshness, fruit and a fine texture.
Matetic - Corallilo Pinot Noir 2023
A beautiful Pinot Noir influenced by the freshness of the Pacific Ocean
Caelum - Eclat Extra Brut 2017
A refined high-altitude sparkling wine, combining freshness, complexity and elegance in an ethereal harmony
Tabali - Talinay Pinot Noir 2021
A pure and mineral expression of Pinot Noir, planted on the coastal part of Chile
William Downie - Gippsland Pinot Noir 2022
An intense and vibrant Pinot Noir, rooted in the cool, volcanic soils of Gippsland
Tabali - Talinay Pai Pinot Noir 2020
A Pinot Noir combining Burgundian finesse with the unique minerality of Limarí's terroirs
Patz & Hall - Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 2017
A Pinot Noir that embodies the finesse and complexity of the Sonoma Coast
Baettig - Los Parientes Pinot Noir 2023
A Pinot Noir from one of the southernmost regions of Chile
Escarpment - Pahi Pinot Noir 2021
Un pinot noir de parcelle, soyeux et profond, né sur les graves de Te Muna Road.
Greywacke - Pinot Noir 2022
A Pinot Noir that embodies the elegance and complexity of the Marlborough terroir
Tolpuddle - Pinot Noir 2022
A masterfully crafted Pinot Noir, combining aromatic intensity, refinement, and remarkable depth.
William Downie - Cathedral Pinot Noir 2022
This Pinot reveals pure fruit, silky tannins and remarkable balance.
Malma - Chacra la Papay Pinot Noir 2024
A light, fruity and mineral Pinot Noir
Malma - Rara Review Pinot Noir 2021
The top-of-the-range Pinot Noir from Domaine Malma, made from ungrafted vines
Malma - Pinot Noir Family Reserve 2023
A fresh and airy Pinot Noir from Patagonia
Matias Riccitelli - Old Vine From Patagonia Pinot Noir 2024
Old, ungrafted Pinot Noir vines planted in the heart of Patagonia
Pete's Pure - Pinot Noir 2021
Cherry, raspberry and strawberry: a light Pinot Noir whose freshness makes it very easy to drink.
Shaw & Smith - Pinot Noir 2022
A fine, elegant and intense Pinot Noir
Francis Ford Coppola - Diamond Appellation Series Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir 2021
Domaine de la Roche Aiguë - Hautes-Côtes de Beaune La Dalignière Red 2022
Raspberry, cherry, forest floor: a Pinot Noir from the hills above Beaune, fine and easy-drinking.
Alain Guyard - Marsannay Les Genelières Red 2018
Duvernay - Rully Meix de Pellerey Red 2022
Black cherry, leather and fine spices: a velvety red Rully, made for the table.
Duvernay - Rully 1er Cru Champs Cloux Red 2023
A Rully premier cru with ripe fruit, cherry and violet, carried by elegant tannins.
Domaine Vaudoisey - Volnay Red 2022
La finesse de Volnay en pinot noir : fraise, framboise, tanins soyeux et longue finale.
Domaine Vaudoisey - Volnay 1er Cru Les Mitans Red 2022
Volnay premier cru: lace-like finesse over vibrant red fruit.
Vaudoisey Estate - Pommard Red 2023
Pommard structuré, poivré, qui demande quelques années avant de s'ouvrir.
Domaine Vaudoisey - Burgundy Pinot Noir 2022
Burgundy Pinot Noir in its everyday style: velvety and straightforward.
Domaine la Renarde - Givry Champs Pourrots Red 2023
Champs Pourrots, un Givry rouge gourmand que le fût ne masque jamais.
Domaine du Four Bassot - Rully En Varot Red 2023
Rully rouge, souple et épicé, une entrée en matière chalonnaise.
Domaine du Four Bassot - Mercurey Vieilles Vignes La Charme Rouge 2022
Vieilles vignes de Mercurey, fruits noirs denses et poivre bien présent.
Domaine du Four Bassot - Mercurey 1er Cru Les Croichots Red 2022
Premier cru chalonnais tout en soie, groseille et réglisse en finale.
Le même raisin sous six climats
Pinot Noir is thin-skinned, ripens early and copes poorly with heat: it is the red grape variety that most faithfully expresses where it grows. The product pages for these bottles all say the same thing under different names: a source of coolness that slows ripening. It may be the ocean in Marlborough and Walker Bay, altitude in Gualtallary, the shadow of a volcano and glacial streams in Chile, or simply latitude in Burgundy. The table sets six origins side by side, with the actual price range and a benchmark bottle.
| Origine | Ce que le climat fait au vin | In our cellar | Une bouteille repère |
|---|---|---|---|
| BourgogneRully, Mercurey, Savigny, Volnay, Nuits-Saint-Georges | Continental climate and short summers. Ripeness is just achieved; the wine plays on fresh cherry and tension rather than power. Prices follow the hierarchy of appellations, from regional to grand cru. | De 19,90 € à 199,90 €, médiane 39,90 € | Cachat-Ocquidant, Bourgogne Pinot Noir, 21,00 € |
| Californie et OregonMonterey, Sonoma Coast, Russian River, Willamette Valley | Valleys open to the Pacific. Sea breezes and wide day-night temperature swings give riper fruit and a round texture, on well-drained gravel and alluvial deposits. | De 16,50 € à 129,60 €, médiane 91,90 € | Calera, Pinot Noir, 39,60 € |
| Nouvelle-ZélandeMarlborough, Martinborough, Bannockburn | Cool maritime climate, Pacific winds and wide temperature swings, on gravels and silts from ancient river terraces. Clean red fruit, lively acidity, fine tannins. | De 18,00 € à 156,00 €, médiane 53,10 € | Clos Henri, Waimaunga Pinot Noir, 45,00 € |
| Afrique du SudHemel-en-Aarde, Walker Bay, Elgin | The cold bays of the South Atlantic, complemented by the high-altitude slopes of Elgin. Clay-shale soils and decomposed sandstone, retained acidity and a tight palate. | De 18,50 € à 184,00 €, médiane 49,90 € | Creation, Pinot Noir, 30,40 € |
| Chili et ArgentineMaule, Talinay, vallée de l'Uco, Patagonie | Deux façons d'aller chercher le froid : la côte calcaire de Talinay et l'ombre du volcan à Maule côté chilien, l'altitude andine côté argentin, jusqu'à près de 1 500 mètres à Gualtallary. | De 11,50 € à 330,00 €, médiane chilienne 22,15 € | Matetic, El Viejo del Valle, 12,50 € |
| AustralieMornington Peninsula, vallée de Yarra, Murray Darling | The Southern Ocean on the Mornington Peninsula, the Bass Strait in the Yarra Valley. Clay-silt soils with volcanic influences, long ripening, ripe fruit without heaviness. | De 11,50 € à 85,00 €, vente par lot | Ten Minutes by Tractor, 10X Pinot Noir, par lot |
Four countries complete the section with nine bottles. Switzerland offers four cuvées from the Valais, from the terraces of Fully held up by dry-stone walls, from €85.75 to €133.00. Germany has three, from the Pfalz to southern Baden, where limestone and marl dominate, from €19.90 to €84.00. Austria contributes a red blending Zweigelt, Blaufränkisch and Pinot Noir, Italy a vintage prosecco rosé in which Pinot accompanies Glera, at €13.90.
Six sections to choose by origin
These six sections cover most of the list. The Australian cuvées, sold in packs, and the Swiss, German, Italian and Austrian bottles complete it. For each, availability as single bottles is shown, to avoid surprises when you reach your basket.
Bourgogne
From €19.90 to €199.90, with a median of €39.90. It is the easiest section to read, from regional appellation to grand cru, and virtually all its bottles are available individually.
De 19,90 € à 199,90 €États-Unis
From Monterey to the Willamette Valley, from €16.50 to €129.60. The median rises to €91.90, the highest in the section, with Cristom, Calera and Au Bon Climat as the most represented estates.
De 16,50 € à 129,60 €Nouvelle-Zélande
From Marlborough, Martinborough and Bannockburn, from €18.00 to €156.00. Felton Road, Blank Canvas and Escarpment are the best represented, and some of the bottles are available individually.
De 18,00 € à 156,00 €Afrique du Sud
From €18.50 to €184.00, with most cuvées from the Hemel-en-Aarde valley. Crystallum and Creation are the best represented, from the Pinot at €30.40 to Bouchard Finlayson's Tête de Cuvée at €184.00.
De 18,50 € à 184,00 €Chili
From €11.50 to €79.90, with a median of €22.15. This is the entry point to the section, with a good share of cuvées under €20.00, between the limestone coast of Talinay and the Andean valleys.
De 11,50 € à 79,90 €Argentine
From €15.50 to €330.00, between the high-altitude vineyards of the Uco Valley and Patagonia. Domaine Nico is the best represented, with the most expensive cuvée in the whole section.
De 15,50 € à 330,00 €
Quatre paliers, et ce qu'ils achètent vraiment
The median of the section is €49.90, and two bottles out of three are between €20.00 and €80.00. What the price buys is not primarily the country but the degree of selection: a cuvée blended from a wide area or a named plot, the sorting, the proportion of whole-bunch fruit, the length of barrel ageing. Here is what each level brings.
| Palier | Ce que le prix paie | En cave | Une bouteille repère |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moins de 20 € Upfront fruit, to drink within two years | Varietal cuvées made in tanks, destemmed, with little or no oak. Here Pinot gives raspberry, cherry and supple tannins. No ageing required. | Mostly Chilean and Argentine cuvées, some available individually. | Santa Rita, Secret Reserve Pinot Noir, 13,80 € |
| 20 à 40 € Le lieu commence à parler | On passe de la marque au terroir : bourgognes régionaux et premiers villages, cuvées côtières d'Afrique du Sud et du Chili. Vendange souvent manuelle, une part d'élevage en fût, trois à cinq ans de garde. | Une majorité de flacons disponibles à l'unité | Creation, Pinot Noir, 30,40 € |
| 40 à 80 € Le cœur du rayon | Villages et premiers crus bourguignons, parcelles nommées du Nouveau Monde. Tri manuel, levures indigènes, part de grappes entières, douze mois de fût ou davantage. Cinq à dix ans de garde. | The largest tier, with many bottles available individually | Hamilton Russel, Pinot Noir, 55,00 € |
| 80 € et plus Parcelles, monopoles et grands crus | Massal selections, ungrafted vines, lieux-dits that carry their name alone. These wines are closed in their youth and call for patience or a decanter. | From €84.00 to €330.00, mostly available individually | Felton Road, Block 3 Pinot Noir, 112,00 € |
Price does not follow country the way you might imagine. The Burgundy median is €39.90, that of the American bottles €91.90, and New Zealand's €53.10. The most affordable origin is Chile, with a median of €22.15 and seven bottles under €20.00.
Burgundy no longer has a monopoly in this cellar
Burgundy accounts for less than a third of the section. The rest comes from ten other countries, six of which offer a substantial range. The grape variety left its home region long ago; our cellar simply reflects that.
There remains the received idea that a New World Pinot offers at €40.00 what a Burgundy charges double for. The prices here say the opposite. The Burgundy median is €39.90, New Zealand's €53.10, the United States' €91.90. Felton Road cuvées start at €69.00, most Cristom wines are €96.00 or more, while a Volnay from Domaine Vaudoisey costs €46.00 and its Pommard €57.00.
What has changed is that the comparison is now made at equal price rather than at half price. For €30.40, the Creation Pinot comes from the Hemel-en-Aarde slopes cooled by the South Atlantic, against a Chorey-lès-Beaune from Domaine Cachat-Ocquidant at €35.00. For €45.00, the Waimaunga from Clos Henri compares directly with the Volnay mentioned above. Burgundy's advantage now lies in the clarity of its appellations, and in availability, since virtually all Burgundies can be bought individually, whereas wines from elsewhere are more often sold in packs.
Trois chiffres avant d'arbitrer
Less than a third: Burgundy's share of the section, against cuvées from ten other countries.
€39.90 versus €91.90: the median for Burgundy against that of the United States. The most expensive bottle in the section, at €330.00, is Argentine.
Single bottles: Burgundy offers almost all of its wines this way, whereas other origins are more often sold in packs.
L'équipe du Baroudeur du Vin
Ce qu'on nous demande le plus souvent
Why does the same grape variety give such different wines from one country to another?
Pinot Noir is thin-skinned and ripens early: it records the slightest difference in temperature, exposure and soil. In this section, freshness comes from the ocean in Marlborough and Walker Bay, from altitude in Gualtallary where the vines grow at almost 1,500 metres, from a volcano and glacial streams in Chile, and from latitude alone in Burgundy. These different sources of coolness give acidities and textures that are nothing alike, even at comparable ripeness.
Par quelle origine commencer quand on découvre ce cépage ?
Through Chile, which shows the lowest median in this section at €22.15 and seven bottles under €20.00. The El Viejo del Valle by Matetic and Guillaume Letang at €12.50, from vines of 40 to 60 years old in the Andes, can be bought singly, as can the Santa Rita Secret Reserve at €13.80. A regional burgundy at around €21.00 then provides the European point of comparison.
Why do prices range from €11.50 to €330.00?
Because the section mixes cuvées blended from a wide area with hand-harvested named plots. The price pays for the degree of selection: yields, sorting, ungrafted vines, the proportion of whole bunches, the length of barrel ageing. The most expensive bottle, Le Paradis from Domaine Nico at €330.00, comes from plots in Gualtallary at almost 1,500 metres of altitude. The median of the section is still €49.90.
Que peut-on prendre sous 20 € ?
Eighteen bottles are under €20.00, but only five can be bought singly: the El Viejo del Valle at €12.50, the Santa Rita Secret Reserve at €13.80, the rosé prosecco from Sutto at €13.90, the Chacra la Papay from Malma at €16.50 and the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits Coup de Foudre from Domaine Bonnardot at €19.90. The other thirteen are only offered by the pack.
Are all bottles sold individually?
A good part of the section, yes. Burgundy is the best served, with almost all its bottles available individually, whereas the Australian cuvées are sold only in packs. The American, New Zealand, Chilean, South African and Argentine wines are split between the two options. Each product page shows the packaging available.
À 50 €, faut-il choisir un bourgogne ou un pinot du Nouveau Monde ?
Both hold their own at this price level, and the choice comes down to style. Between €45.00 and €55.00, our cellar offers the Waimaunga from Clos Henri at €45.00, the Hamilton Russel at €55.00 and the Volnay from Domaine Vaudoisey at €46.00. The first two play on tension and clean red fruit, the third on restraint and tannin.
What dishes should I serve with Pinot Noir?
It is the most versatile red at the table, because it brings acidity and little tannin. In this section, some cuvées are recommended with beef, with lamb and with white meat. Cheeses follow, with pairings for pressed cheeses and soft cheeses, and many bottles go with grilled vegetables. Some are even recommended with a spicy dish, which few reds can handle.
À quelle température le servir, et faut-il le carafer ?
At 14–16 °C, cooler than most reds: above that, the alcohol takes over and the fruit fades. Bottles under €20.00, made in tanks to be drunk young, do not need decanting. Single-plot cuvées above €80.00, often closed in their youth, benefit from half an hour in a decanter or being opened in advance.
Combien de temps se garde un pinot noir ?
It depends on the price tier. Cuvées under €20.00 are drunk within two years, those from €20.00 to €40.00 generally keep three to five years, and single-plot wines above that, aged twelve months or more in barrel, keep five to ten years. As Pinot Noir has little tannin, it is its acidity that carries it over time, not its structure.
Why are there sparkling wines and blends in this section?
Because Pinot Noir is also used as a blending grape. Four bottles in the section are sparkling wines in which it plays a supporting role: a vintage Sutto prosecco rosé blended with Glera, a Methode Cap Classique from Groot Constantia, an extra brut from Caelum and a brut nature rosé from Otronia. Two reds are also blends, one Argentine with Malbec and Bonarda, the other Austrian with Zweigelt and Blaufränkisch. The other 182 bottles are varietal Pinot Noirs.