Grapevine of the month: Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir is a wonderful grape, making sophisticated wines which are often many peoples’ favourite. The smells of ripe cherries, strawberries and cranberries, often combine with herbal aromas or hints of mushrooms or leaf mulch, give this wine a wonderful diversity and it is great to drink when eating lamb, duck, Gruyere, Camembert and even salmon.    

The excellent news is that Pinot Noir is coming of age in the UK. It has been the mainstay of the UK sparkling industry for many years, with roughly 30% of UK vines planted being Pinot Noir. What is really exciting is that in 2025, Lyme Bay winery in Devon won a Gold medal and international Wine Challenge trophy for their still 2021 Pinot Noir. It scored 95 points in judging, making it one of the best Pinot Noir’s globally (2 wines got 97 points and 6 wines got 96 points). It scored the same as the Gevrey Chambertin 2022, in the heart of Burgundy.  It is interesting to hear that Lyme Bay winery sourced their grapes from across the UK and used a mixture of Pinot Noir clones based on Spätburgunder (German) and Dijon (French) clones to create their award winning wine. 

Stepping back, Pinot Noir cloning started after the war with different regions focussing on what worked for them. The French focussed on clones that had good sugar accumulation and early ripeness due to the Burgundy climate at the time. The French Pinot Noir clones often referred to as “Dijon” clones, referring to the town in Burgundy. These clones include the famous Pinot Noir clones such as 667 known for its aromatic traits and tannin structure.  The Germans focussed on clones with looser bunches to reduce risk of botrytis rot. The German clones have Germanic names such as “Spätburgunder” which is late ripening, or “Frűhburgunder” which is an early ripening clone (also called Pinot Noir Précose). They bring less tannins than their French ‘twins’ and bright fruit flavours.    

Hence, we now have a wide range of clones from one variety of grapevine developed over 60 years, each one having different traits and strengths. So, as you plan your vineyard, choosing the right Pinot Noir clones for your vineyard is a key decision. It's also influenced by that fact that Pinot Noir is susceptible to diseases especially mildew and botrytis. So, for example, in more wetter climes the use of Frűhburgunder has allowed producers to create new fresh pinot noirs with less of a botrytis risk. Therefore, if you want Pinot Noir in your vineyard, please contact the Vinehouse UK and we’d be happy to work with you to find out the right clones for you.