The World's Finest Pinot is from . . .

[brodie_thomson]

I would like to say Vosne but my wife would want me to say Chambolle, so Chambolle.

Yup, strong second here. My wife also loves the elegance and refined nature of good Chambolle Musigny wines.
Les Amoureuses and Musigny from Mugnier are just divine and to our taste everything we could possibly want in Pinot Noir



Brodie

[Andrew_K]

Naturally Vosne for my money. Even the AOC have that lovely spice that I can’t get enough of.

Thankfully I wasn’t buying when it was “dirt cheap” in 19/20XX, so I’m happy to buy at the prices now. I think most who buy now will also feel that way in 10+ years.

[JWalter]

I have not had a pinot noir from outside of Burgundy that would come within my top several thousand pinot noirs.

But, in the interests of not just answering with a list of Burgundies, I will say that the best non-Burgundy pinot noir I have had was a Sancere Rose from Cotat.

Cotat’s rosé is very interesting … I had a very good 2015 (quite closed) in june 2020.
Some red Sancerre are worth trying (Paul Prieur, Mathieu Delaporte, …).
Including François Cotat’s red (Vin de Table, the 1976 was delicious at the domain in 2017).

Some interesting pinot noir in Alsace (Deiss Burlenberg, Arthur Bohn), Jura, Irancy near Chablis (Dauvissat) and even Savoie (Dupasquier).

+1 for the F Cotat Rose. I think it is an incredible wine, that to me is much more of Pinot than a Rose. It’s a little to serious and seems to transcend the Rose category. It’s also my favorite wine to pair with wines that are “in between” white and red but deserving of a serious wine. Had tonight with Paella for example

Tempier is my favorite rose, but in my opinion Cotat is probably a better wine

[Peter_C]

If price is not an objection, then Burgundy. For Pinot in the $50 per bottle range- Santa Rita Hills. Just because I live in the SRH and grow Pinot does not make me biased does it?

This is the correct answer IMO. Though I’d add Swan and Dehlinger, as well. A 1996 Dehlinger Octagon at a local resto a couple years ago was a revelation.

[Todd_Hamina]

I would state the obvious here -

Burgundy, France
Alto Adige, Italy
Baden, Germany
Pfalz, Germany
Santa Barbara, California
Sonoma, California
Santa Cruz Mountains, California
Willamette Valley, Oregon
Finger Lakes, New York

How about Champagne and the Loire?

Any and all wines? The finest? That is Champagne.

A still Pinot? That’s Burgundy, and specifically Vosne-Romanee.

[saul_cooperstein1]

In order

Champagne
Alsace (Pinot Gris from zind himbrecht)
Burgundy
NorCal
Oregon
SoCal

[lleichtman]

It’s been fascinating reading the Grenache thread and seeing opinions from those on this board - and the idea of ‘best’ based on subjective characteristics. We ALL know that folks on this board probably drink more pinot based wines than any others (cab would be a second if I had to guess based on posts) and therefore it would be interesting to see what folks say about this variety as well.

I would find it interesting to see not only the producer that you feel makes the ‘best’ Pinot but why - why is that producer’s take on the variety so distinctive that it makes them ‘best’. And of course there is the caveat that ‘price does not matter’ - I would think if pricing was taken into account, the list would probably be different.

Have fun, all!

How does one determine the best one? They are all so different depending where they’re grown, the quality of the producer and Pinot Noir is grown in so many places. If you like Burgundy, you’ll name that. Same with California, Oregon, Loire, and so many more. Nope can’t do it.

[Jim_Cowan]

Larry,
The red wine that impressed me most in my life was a 1992 Leroy, Musigny.
Terrible vintage so prices were lower and I had a friend that got me three bottles at wholesale.
One was good, one was very good and one was the “Burgundy moment.” I will never forget it.
You?
Best, jim

[Howard_Cooper]

In order

Champagne
Alsace (Pinot Gris from zind himbrecht)
Burgundy
NorCal
Oregon
SoCal

My order would be

Cotes d’Or
Champagne
Cotes Chalonnaise
Loire

[Howard_Cooper]

I have not had a pinot noir from outside of Burgundy that would come within my top several thousand pinot noirs.

But, in the interests of not just answering with a list of Burgundies, I will say that the best non-Burgundy pinot noir I have had was a Sancere Rose from Cotat.

Cotat’s rosé is very interesting … I had a very good 2015 (quite closed) in june 2020.
Some red Sancerre are worth trying (Paul Prieur, Mathieu Delaporte, …).
Including François Cotat’s red (Vin de Table, the 1976 was delicious at the domain in 2017).

Some interesting pinot noir in Alsace (Deiss Burlenberg, Arthur Bohn), Jura, Irancy near Chablis (Dauvissat) and even Savoie (Dupasquier).

+1 for the F Cotat Rose. I think it is an incredible wine, that to me is much more of Pinot than a Rose.

I agree with one caveat. It is more Pinot than a Rose, but it also is very much Sancerre - very true to its origins, just like it should be.

[michael_holmstrom]

No love for Santa Lucia Highlands?

[Steen_T_Olsen]

Deleted.

[Nathan_Smyth]

Outside of Burgundy proper, the correct answer is “that teeny tiny little plot of dirt somewhere near Chavignol” where Edmond Vatan had planted a few rows of Pinot Noir.

[Andy_Sc]

Of course Burgundy is #1 here but beside that there are other regions and wines that are interesting to explore and produce great wines (a lot of the mentioned here).

I would add the Büdner Herrschaft region in Switzerland (just a short 2h drive away from Burgundy). There are some great Pinot Noir producers which produce wines on super good 1er Cru levels and sometimes on great Grand Cru levels (in great years).

Studach: very traditional Burgundy in style, fantastic in great years, very hard to find on the secondary market but worth any search

Donatsch: very traditional Burgundy in style, an insider’s choice for a long time but since Decanter named the 2013 “Unique” one of the top 10 Pinot Noirs outside Burgundy and Wine Advocate’s Reinhard scored so many wines very high (incl. 98 points for the 1990, which tastes like a mature La Tache) it’s no longer a well kept secret. At an auction in 2019, a case of the best barrel of the 2013 went for more than 1000 USD per bottle.

Gantenbein: a cult wine, more modern and with strong emphasize on winemaking and producer stlye. Certainly not to everybody’s liking and probably not a wine for traditionalists but highly sought after and crowd pleasers.

[DavidC1]

Bass Philip Reserve

[DavidC1]

Outside of Burgundy proper, the correct answer is “that teeny tiny little plot of dirt somewhere near Chavignol” where Edmond Vatan had planted a few rows of Pinot Noir.

which wine is this?

[Nathan_Smyth]

Outside of Burgundy proper, the correct answer is “that teeny tiny little plot of dirt somewhere near Chavignol” where Edmond Vatan had planted a few rows of Pinot Noir.

which wine is this?

I only ever had this one, the “Sancerre Rouge” [Levenberg talks about “veins of iron”; for me, it was what I imagine hemoglobin might taste like].

It looks like maybe that label was discontinued, and now they’re calling it the Rouge Clos la Néore?

Apparently the Rouge Clos la Néore was bottled in at least 2013 & 2014, but no one has posted any tasting notes on those vintages.

And Vivino has no listings whatsoever for any Edmond Vatan Rouge.

---

WARNING: If you start pursuing Edmond Vatan [which must cost gazillions of dollars these days], then you have to be aware that you’re rolling the dice concerning bacterial spoilage.

But if you get a pristine bottle, then you’ll quickly realize that there’s nothing else quite like it…

[Brian_G_r_a_f_s_t_r_o_m]

My limited dabblings in Burgundy tell me my answer is Burgundy; my exposure has been too lean to get any more specific than that.

As for outside Burgundy: I’m pretty comfortable nominating producer Arcadian.

[Adam_Frisch]

It sounds silly to always bring up Ceritas and their cultishness, but I have to say that Ceritas is the only wine allocation I’m part of where I don’t really mind that the pricing is as high as it is. They’re just worth it pretty consistently.

[David_Bu3ker]

It sounds silly to always bring up Ceritas and their cultishness, but I have to say that Ceritas is the only wine allocation I’m part of where I don’t really mind that the pricing is as high as it is. They’re just worth it pretty consistently.

Ceritas is not at all cultish, but their Chardonnay is better than their Pinot.