The rise and rise of pinot noir

Global interest in pinot noir is at an all time high, according to the commentators at Australia's longest running benchmark tasting for pinot noir, Stonier International Pinot Noir Tasting (SIPNOT). The panel for the prestigious event included Australian communicators Huon Hooke and James Halliday, Stonier winemaker Mike Symons and leading UK writer Matthew Jukes.

This annual forum reviewed twelve wines to gain a snapshot of styles in key regions - from the 2008 vintage in the northern hemisphere and 2009 in the southern hemisphere. Wines were selected from Burgundy in France, Martinborough in New Zealand, Oregon in America, the Fleurieu and Mornington Peninsulas and Tasmania in Australia.

According to Matthew Jukes there is growing interest in serious pinot noir. "For the first time Bordeaux (claret) didn't reach top prices at the annual Hong Kong auctions, but Burgundy (pinot noir) did," he said. "More wines are also entering the market from Chile, Austria and Germany."

In Australia pinot noir is the fastest growing red variety, doubling over the past five years to reach retail sales of $31.4 million. Stonier winemaker Mike Symons believes this is due to the multi-faceted allure of the variety, the availability of more imports and the notable increase in quality wines from Australian producers.

"With vines maturing in age and winemakers increasing their understanding of what they can achieve with their unique sites, the gap between Burgundy and new world countries, Australia, New Zealand and America has narrowed. SIPNOT gives us a fascinating annual insight into recent vintages around the world."

The twelve wines tasted at this year's event showed the amazing variation that can be achieved with pinot noir while still remaining true to the varietal style. There was wide dissension over many of the wines - like art, personal preferences come into play. Crowd favourites on the night included 2009 Martinborough Vineyard, 2008 Cristom Jessie Vineyard and 2008 Domain Armand Rousseau Clos de la Roche, Morey St Denis.