A tale of two Pinot's

Posted by Andrew Chapman, 11:06pm 08/01/2008. Leave a comment

Having spent the today tasting the wines of Jean-Claude Boisset in London (see earlier Blog post) , among them some top-notch Pinot Noir, I could be seen as a something of a gluten for punishment by opening Omrah Pinot Noir 2006 to drink with the Chicken Risotto Alison had made for supper.

The Omrah Pinot Noir actually had a lot in common with the Pinot Noir's I had tasted earlier. Low-ish yields and fully ripe fruit have made for good concentration - a moderately priced New World Pinot that actually smells and tastes like Pinot, which isn't always the case. Too much that passes in the name of Pinot Noir, both from France and elsewhere, lacks any resemblance to what good Pinot should be - light to medium in colour, with cherry and red fruit aromas and palate are often described as either red berry fruits, or fleshy and gamey - the latter usually as it ages. Pinot is prone to disease, very sensitive to terroir - a notoriously difficult grape variety to get the best out of.

So, all the more refreshing to taste a good Pinot at well below £10 a bottle (All Omrah wines, made by Plantagenet vineyard in Western Australia are, in my opinion, very good value for money - but then I suppose I would say that, wouldn't I!) A wonderful aroma of cherries and fleshy/gamey notes. Ripe and really juicy style on the palate. Again, fleshy, almost meaty, hints of wood-smoke. All together a very nice glass of wine, with more than a nod to the good Burgundy tasted earlier in the day.

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