I'm rather missing the zeitgeist here with this statement. It's no secret that Pinot Noir is being drunk in abundance and "Sideways" came out in 2004 so I'm about 4 years off the pace but a couple of things conspired over the past week to have me thinking that Pinot-love has ratcheted up another notch, here in Nu Zillund at least.
Whilst at lunch last Tuesday (being treated to the Vidal wines) a restaurant industry peer commented that, last summer, Pinot Noir outsold every other varietal. The summer usually has Kiwis reaching for the ubiquitous Savvy or a fashionable Pinot Gris and whilst there's no mistaking Pinot Noir's a contender in the fashion stakes it came as a surprise that it would oust the whites whilst the sun shone.
Then my lovely Dad (who gets Cuisine magazine delivered and hence receives it before the shops) got in touch to share the results of the magazine's Pinot tasting. As he so eloquently put it "Cuisine goes a bit gaga over the standard of 2007 Pinot Noirs". And he questioned "have they gone ott and developed nu zillund one-eyed-ness on our nouveau #1 grape?".
Talking over some of the results I'm still unsure, and Cuisine have certainly been lavish with their praise. 29 wines awarded 5 stars. That's 29 "2 bottle wines".
That's a lot! the sup-position jury is still out on this one.
3 comments:
Maybe, as journos they are just very thirsty :)
I just noticed that you where a Roni Size fan! Classic stuff. Helps me run faster...
Dad thinks it could be put down to there being such a large pool of entries to start with. I'm not so sure. And some of the medals have gone to (in my estimation at least) dubious places. Rich, ripe plummy (oh there's merlot added?) Pinot anyone? Sometimes I think they're missing the point.
I agree Cuisine seems to rate from a New Zealand palate and not an international palate. This issue is typical of late, far too much advertising, and they still skimp on the judges. Is there an independent judge in the ranks?
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