French Pinot Noir Wine

Pinot Noir is pronounced pee-no n'war.

Though Pinot Noir thrives throughout France, the grape’s most thrilling, prestigious and iconic bottlings come from Burgundy. There, the best Pinot Noirs are terroir-driven, elegant and made to age. Versions can be plush and fruitful, or structured and earthy—the quality they all share is their excellent balance. Alsace, Champagne, the Jura, the Loire Valley and the Languedoc-Roussillon are other notable Pinot Noir regions in France.

Often terroir-driven, French Pinot Noir can vary in taste, depending where and how it’s made, and how long it’s been aged. Typically, however, you can expect French Pinot to be light to medium in body, with soft tannins, and medium to high acidity. Examples can be mineral and earthy, with notes of flowers, tea leaves, mushrooms, granite and forest floor, or perfumed and deeply fruited, with prominent red and black fruits like cherries, strawberries and blackberries.

Sparkling, Pinot Noir-based Champagnes—called Blanc de Noirs— are known to have distinctive red fruit and floral notes, and can be more rich and robust than Champagnes made from a blend of grapes.

Because California is much warmer than France, Pinot Noir produced there is often more fruit forward and opulent, with bottles from the southern part of the state richer and more ripe than those in the north (Though there are exceptions, of course.)

Stylistically, New Zealand Pinot Noir is generally a good compromise between Californian Pinot and French Pinot. Though, like everywhere else, New Zealand Pinot Noir varies depending where and how it’s made, versions are typically light- to medium-bodied, with more minerality and savoriness than Californian Pinots but softer fruit than those from France.