The New Wine Review Weekly: June 5, 2024

🍷 An Endless Quest for “Value” Pinot Noir

June 06, 2024

No other major wine country is given as short shrift by media and wine educators as Spain, says Jason Wilson, in his report on the exciting wines from Catalonia.

  • “No one would cover the wines of France or Italy as a simple, single entity. It would be unthinkable, for instance, to interpret the wines from Piedmont, Tuscany, Veneto, Alto Adige, or Sicily—each with its unique culture—under the catch-all rubric of ‘Italian wine.’ Similarly, we expect to learn about Bordeaux, Burgundy, Alsace, RhĂ´ne, or Loire as separate regions with distinct styles and histories. Not so with Spain.”

This becomes especially clear when we talk about wine from Catalonia, which is not Tempranillo, Albariño, or sherry. It’s likely why Catalonia wines remain under appreciated, even as more and more of them turn up on cutting-edge lists in the U.S. These wines, many from native Catalan grapes like Xarel·lo, Trepat, and Sumoll feel very of the moment, with freshness, energy, and drinkability. Xarel·lo, in particular, is a world-class white grape, which can punch in the same weight class as Austrian Grüner Veltliner or Loire Chenin Blanc.

Back in April, Wilson explored Priorat, Catalonia’s most internationally famous region. Here, he looks at Penedès, Conca de Barberà, and Terra Alta, three appellations among the buzziest within Spain itself, with a critical mass of up-and-coming winemakers that we’ll soon see more of in the U.S. With tasting notes on 20 favorite wines.

Two things can be true at once: 1) People love Pinot Noir. 2) Pinot Noir, particularly from Burgundy, is the most consistently overpriced wine on the market. Thus, Pinot lovers are forced to chase “value” for wines that are “Burgundian.” Which is how we end up thinking of $80 red Burgundy as “good value.” As Jason Jacobeit noted in his astute piece last month, “Red Burgundy doesn’t do downright inexpensive well.”

What’s a Pinot fan to do? Well, according to our in-depth tasting report, look a little further north, and learn a little German. Really just one word: Spätburgunder. Jason Wilson dives deep into Spätburgunder with notes on 18 top wines.

  • “Yes, folks, they grow a lot of Pinot Noir in Germany. They’ve been growing it there for about 1,000 years. It’s the most widely planted red grape in the country. In fact, Germany is the third largest producer of Pinot Noir in the world. Yet I’m always surprised that more American wine drinkers have never tried German Spätburgunder. Part of that is surely lack of availability in the U.S. But that is changing … Nearly every wine region in the world tries to channel its ‘inner Burgundy’ and attempts to make Pinot Noir. Too often, what you get are overpriced, oaky, jammy, raspberry-juice bombs. It was like that in Germany, too, for many years. But not anymore.”

The overall quality, consistency, and style right now—a fresh, sleek, vibrant style of Pinot Noir now coming from regions like Ahr, Baden, Württemberg, and Pfalz—has won us over. Especially in the $25-50 range. This is truly “value” and “Burgundian” wine.

Want the full New Wine Review experience?

“Dallas has historically been a cocktails and craft beer kind of town,” writes Sarah Parker Jang in her recent report on the surprising Dallas wine bar scene. “A slate of wine bars launched in recent years is bringing some change. And while ‘Dallas’ and ‘natural wine’ might seem like a radical pairing, that’s no longer the case.”

But Dallas isn’t the only travel destination we’ve covered at NWR. Be sure to check out our guides to eating and drinking in places like Santa Barbara, Champagne, New York’s Finger Lakes, and elsewhere.

PLUS, OVER IN OUR SUBSCRIBER-ONLY SLACK COMMUNITY

Robust discussions are taking place on wine and spirits destinations such as Portugal, Italy’s Piedmont region, Ireland, and many more.

Currently, subscribers are debating our Question of the Week in Slack: What wine-related travel content would you like to read in NWR? Have thoughts? But now we want to hear from you. Let us know your thoughts at the link below.

We’ve launched two new Insta-only features: Friday Wine Picks and “What Are You Drinking Right Now?” Q+A with some of the industry’s leading experts. Follow @newwinereview to stay up to date.

  • In our first profile, we speak with Caroline Styne, sommelier, restaurateur, president and wine director of Lucques Group, and the mind behind A.O.C. wine bars and the Hollywood Bowl. See what she has to say.

CALIFORNIA DREAMING

This week, we’ve published our definitive guide to Paso Robles, written by Virginie Boone.

  • “Today, it’s the kind of former rural outpost in the Central Coast where the food and cocktail scene has gotten more sophisticated, but never feels stuffy. This vibe is what draws people to Paso, where Bordeaux- and RhĂ´ne-inspired wines dominate,” Boone writes.

Beyond Paso Robles, NWR has published a trio of great California pieces over the past couple of months, including Andrea Jaramillo’s piece on five California natural wine producers you need to know and Boone’s excellent report on California Syrah.

AROUND THE WINE (AND WHISKEY) WORLD

💲Time to buy! In large parts of Bordeaux, the price of vineyard land has dropped 45 percent from five years ago.

🤔The 2023 Napa vintage may be “as perfect as any Napa vintage in living memory.” But, as we’ve noted before, these kinds of statements aren’t as unusual as you’d think.

💤The food diary of a 26-year-old wine chemist in Salem, Oregon, who makes $55,000 a year. Interesting insights on Gen Z wine consumption.

As always, thanks for reading! See you next week for much more.

SantĂŠ!

The NWR Editors

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