Pinot Noir

Cool maritime, perfumed and finely built

Australia's answer to cool-climate Pinot. Fragrant red cherry, strawberry, and floral lift, often with whole-bunch smokiness. Cooler than Bordeaux, slightly warmer than Burgundy.

Cool-climate Pinot Noir gaining recognition for purity and finesse

The benchmark Pinot Noir. Côte de Nuits leans structured and dark-cherried, Côte de Beaune turns perfumed and supple, both ageing into forest floor and truffle.

The backbone of Champagne. Montagne de Reims Pinot brings red fruit, body, and longevity to blends; Aÿ adds southern-exposure depth; on its own it makes Blanc de Noirs.

Oxidative style under voile. Earthy, nutty, unlike any other Pinot Noir.

Rare, light Ahr Spätburgunder. Increasingly serious quality from steep terraces.

Germany's finest Spätburgunder, from the warm, sunny volcanic Kaiserstuhl. Riper and more powerful than northern Pinot, with red cherry and a volcanic mineral lift.

Light, cool-climate reds from slate soils

Light, cool-climate reds

Known as Spätburgunder, increasingly refined and Burgundian in style

Known as Spätburgunder, lighter style from slate and quartzite soils

Spätburgunder is gaining serious ground here, particularly on cooler slopes and limestone soils in Wonnegau and around Ingelheim.

Known as Spätburgunder, increasingly ambitious and Burgundian in style from top estates

Pinot Nero in Franciacorta and Oltrepò Pavese. Used for sparkling and still wines.

Powerful, fruit-forward Pinot from schist and high altitude. Dark cherry, plum, and Otago's signature wild thyme, with silky texture and deeper colour than Burgundy.

Marlborough's quieter red. Bright cherry, raspberry, and rose petal, with cooler Awatere sites adding herbal lift. Lighter and leaner than Central Otago.

Hemel-en-Aarde Pinot from cool Atlantic-cooled slopes. Spicy, savoury, structured, with red cherry and herbs over decomposed shale and granite. South Africa's Pinot heart.

Castell d'Encus's Acusp planting at 1,000 m in Pallars Jussà is the reference; a few estates in Les Garrigues have followed

Polished modern Pinot on molasse and clay-marl slopes

Switzerland's most acclaimed Pinot Noir district, on Jurassic limestone marl slopes warmed by the Foehn wind. Lighter, Burgundian-leaning Pinot from lake-side and Rhine valley slopes. 75% of canton plantings; the Pinot Noir heartland of northern Switzerland

Lean, transparent Pinot on Jurassic limestone marl; the home of Œil-de-Perdrix rosé

Structured, cellar-worthy Pinot from south-facing Alpine slopes. At least 85% Pinot Noir, blended with Gamay, the canton's everyday red

A growing share alongside Chasselas, often blended into Salvagnin

Best on Seneca Lake's warm east shore; light to medium-bodied with red cherry and forest floor.

Mountain Pinot with concentrated dark fruit. Higher altitude than Sonoma Coast.

Silky and aromatic, with red cherry, mushroom, and a hint of sea breeze from the coastal influence.

Oregon's signature grape: earthy, elegant, with red fruit, mushroom, and forest floor. The volcanic Jory soils of Dundee Hills produce the most structured wines.

Riper, fruit-forward Pinot from cool coastal pockets. Sonoma Coast and Russian River show black cherry and spice; Sta. Rita Hills brings concentrated red fruit and depth.

Burgundy's same latitude on Jory volcanic soil. Bright cherry, cranberry, and black tea, with dusty earthiness, lighter body, and higher acidity than California Pinot.