Want good value Pinot Noir? Try Chile.
Most wine lovers have a soft spot for Pinot Noir.
It’s a masochistic tendency.
Not only does good Pinot Noir tend to be expensive, it can also be very hit and miss. For a slightly elusive wine that inhabits a tantalising middle ground between white and red, it can all too often be weedy and thin – or overblown and fat. Neither extreme is in any way satisfying.
So it was heartening to conduct a tasting of more than 70 Pinot Noirs from Chile and to find some very good value – as well as elegance and charm among many of the wines. There was welcome evidence of risk-taking, of pushing boundaries in order to craft sensuous, intriguing wines with real individuality. While there’s more to be done, it was gratifying to note that the average price of the top rated wines was just £13.50. That’s a result in any Pinot lover’s book.
[Peter Richards MW tastes and rates Chilean Pinot Noir in Decanter magazine]