An ode to the diva grape

It is worth tasting Pinot Noir in all its varied roles - from the shy, delicate ingénue, and simple yet intense New World newbie to the full-on Grand Cru prima donna

- RUMASINGH

Pinot Noir. The black grape that calls Burgundy home has been referred to by dozens of names and adjectives. Most commonly, it is known as the “heartbreak grape”, due to the challenges it presents its winemakers in the cellar or in the vineyards. It is also called fussy, capricious and beguiling — much like a Hollywood superstar — a diva grape. Capricious it may be, but in the right hands, in the right vintage and in the right terroir, it sings.

This is why it is worth tasting Pinot Noir in all its varied roles — from the shy, delicate ingénue, and simple yet intense New World newbie to the full-on Grand Cru prima donna.

Unsurprisingly, few other grapes can match it in terms of accolades earned. Clive Coates, MW in his book on Burgundy, likens Pinot Noir to a gypsy, a “temperamental Carmen”. Jancis Robinson describes it thus: “It tends to be fruity, perfumed and haunting. It dances on the palate rather than overpowering it.” In the definitive tome on ampelography, “Wine Grapes” by Jancis Robinson, Julia Harding and José Vouillamoz, there are 21 pages devoted to Pinot Noir alone, its siblings and its colour mutations and it also lists a whopping 27 principal synonyms for the grape.

Of late its wines, especially Burgundy’s highlyrated Grand Crus, have reached stratospheric levels in terms of pricing. “Bonkers,” described a British MW in a recent podcast on Burgundy — I must agree. And still, there are Burgundy Pinot Noir lovers who are willing to sell a vital organ to acquire a bottle of Grand Cru from a top vintage. Let us look at possible reasons why. Leading Indian importer Sonarys’s founder,