There are currently noI spent a few days in California last month judging wines that dozens of producers submitted for the Sonoma County Barrel Auction, which will take place in April. My most vivid takeaway was the extreme stylistic variability of the Pinot Noirs. Whereas the Cabernets, Zinfandels and Chardonnays hewed to a relatively narrow path, the Pinots I blind tasted were all radically individual. In retrospect, this should have been no surprise. To understand Pinot Noir and its chameleon-like nature, it’s useful to think back to our teenage years or, for those of us who no longer remember them clearly, to more recent encounters with adolescents. Let’s agree that many teens are inconsistent in behavior from one day, or sometimes one minute, to the next. There’s a swing from brooding and moody to cheery and delightful that always manages to catch us off guard. Sometimes it’s pure joy to be in a teenager’s company, while at other times…he or she is best left alone.

That’s Pinot Noir: unpredictable, high strung and requires handling with care. The reasons for Pinot’s capricious nature, for the fact that it can’t be reduced to a formula and that it expresses such a wide range of characteristics wherever it’s grown, are not fully known. buying wedding wine in franceThere is an “X” factor that remains fundamentally, mysterious. top wine china 2015What we can say is that the best Pinot Noirs show imperfections that only enhance their appeal; where can i buy wine away in canadathey can be twisted, cerebral wines that are slightly off center and perhaps a little unbalanced but taste all the more intriguing for their lack of symmetry. one hope wine amazon

Their aromatic and flavor profiles reflect a specific vineyard, or “terroir” as the French say, more transparently than any other red grape. Pinot Noirs are also ideal accompaniments to fish and seafood. buy wine in advanceAlthough the US is a majority red wine drinking country, at Legal Sea Foods we serve substantially more white wine, largely due to the mistaken impression that red wine and fish somehow don’t “go together.” best red wine to drink with red meatWhile it’s true that seafood and tannin often generate frowns when experienced simultaneously, Pinot Noir is a red wine with minimal tannin levels and prominent acid. It’s similar, in other words, to many white wines that are classic partners with our food. Our finest sources are Russian River, Anderson Valley, and the Sta. Rita Hills (all in California), Oregon’s Willamette Valley, and, of course, Burgundy.

The California examples are brighter, more fruit expressive and ripe; the Oregon wines a little more understated and mellow; and the Burgundies definitely edgier with sharper acids and more earthy characteristics. What follows are brief tasting notes on a few of the standouts you might find on our lists, depending on which restaurant you visit. Russian River Valley: EnRoute “Les Pommiers.”As with the other California wines, this is produced in a coastal area that experiences fogs and strong Pacific breezes on a daily basis, moderating sunshine and growing season temperatures in a way conducive to the slow ripening cycle that Pinot Noir loves. EnRoute (produced by Far Niente) is a blend of three organically farmed vineyard sites that age for 11 months in half new and half one year old oak. Subtly floral and minerally on the palate, the flavors are juicy, blackberry-like and succulent, with attractive baking spice accents. Anderson Valley: FEL, 2013. From the wild, rugged Mendocino coast north of Sonoma, this wine is made by Cabernet producer Cliff Lede.

It’s soft and mellow, with red cherry notes and savory hints of sage, espresso and mushroom. There’s plenty of acid apparent, but the fruit is so lush and velvety that any tart flavors remain in the background. Sta. Rita Hills: Foley “Rancho Santa Rosa,” 2013: Sourced from vineyards just a hundred miles north of Los Angeles, the Pinot Noir planted here enjoys the state’s longest growing season as well as one of the coolest summer climates of any grape growing region. It’s perfumed with floral, red berry, slightly vegetal notes and has a crisp mineral but also gamey flavor profile. Medium-bodied, rich and layered. Willamette Valley: Elk Cove Vineyards, 2014: Oregon Pinot Noirs are less overtly fruity than their counterparts from further south; they show less explosive flavors, but still wonderful concentration of fruit and texture. Another way of saying this is that Oregon produces Pinots that are less overt in fruit expression than California. This wine has a refined cherry-scented herbal aroma, is crisp and tart with a spicy edge and undertones of plum, black tea and clove.

Burgundy: Domaine Mouton, Givry Premier Cru “Clos Charlé:” From a small family estate in the Cote Chalonaise (a “value” part of Burgundy), this estate bottled wine shows appealing restraint and elegance. Laurent Mouton is a fourth generation grape grower who produces a fleshy, medium-weight Pinot with delicious hints of roasted meat and earthy spices. A wine that shows its best with a swordfish steak. So while Pinot Noir may be a wine that you need to approach with caution, I would suggest that our blind tasting process of selection for our wine lists guarantees a certain level of quality control, at least in our opinion. Pinot’s true place is at the table with well-matched dishes and we have several winemaker dinners coming up in Boston during the upcoming months where the grape will play a prominent part: a Burgundy dinner on April 7, a dinner with Peter Michael on May 3, one with Anthony Hamilton Russell of South Africa on May 18, and one with Paul Hobbs on June 7.