We list all the medallists from this year’s Global Pinot Noir Masters, and Patrick Schmitt MW reveals his top 10 findings from the competition, which include his thoughts on some revelatory samples from Romania, Portugal and Tasmania.

CONSIDERING IT’S a grape I sample often, I wasn’t prepared to be surprised by our major annual blind tasting of Pinot Noir as part of The Global Masters series.

After all, I thought I knew what styles of Pinot are being made today, where the grape performs best and at what price bands. But I came away in a somewhat amazed state, realising that I would have to change my preconceptions, not only about good source areas for the variety but, crucially, my long-held beliefs about the possible quality-for-price concerning this famously demanding grape.

Indeed, having thought that Pinot Noir is too troublesome in the vineyard and cellar to be a reliable basis for inexpensive wines, I was wrong. But that’s not the only idea shattered by this year ’s Global Pinot Noir Masters, and below I’ve outlined my top 10 findings from 2024’s competition.

1: Pinot Noir can be employed to make delicious and inexpensive red wines.

For some time I’ve thought that, should you want affordable, light, fruity red wines, you’d be better off ditching Pinot Noir for Gamay or Grenache. But this year ’s Pinot Noir Masters has led me to change my mind. There are lots of examples of sub-£15 Pinot-based reds that are lovely, with ripe red berry flavours and a pleasing freshness (including Bijou, LFE, Cavit, Church Road, Marisco, Brancott, Stoneleigh, De Bortoli), and even a few sub-£10 that are good too – notably from Chile (Cono Sur) and Romania (Cramele Recas).

2: Pinot Noir can yield first-rate sparkling wines without Chardonnay.

While I’ve always favoured classic-method fizz containing Chardonnay, and have a particular fondness for blanc de blancs, it seems that pure Pinot sparkling wine is on the ascendency – both in terms of quality and popularity. Proving that ripe red fruit, long lees-aged wines, even oak-influenced Pinot, can be used to make seriously fine and refreshing sparkling wine is Bollinger, with its PN AYC18 – a 100% Pinot from the 2018 harvest in the village of Aÿ.

3: Lesser-known appellations of Burgundy are now crafting outstanding wines.

While it’s no surprise to find that Gevrey-Chambertin (such as Gerard Seguin’s sample in this year ’s competition) is the source of outstanding Pinot Noir, Burgundy’s lesser appellations are rarely known to hit the high points – especially when pitched against the often juicier global competition. That, it seems, is changing, with this year ’s Masters competition featuring some class-leading Pinots from Pommard (Château de Pommard) and Mercurey (Albert Sounit). Notably, these wines wowed our judges when tasted alongside powerful top-end samples from Central Otago and Oregon. And, in many ways, the Burgundian Pinots had more punch than their more famously fruity New World alternatives.

4: If you want light styles of Pinot Noir today, your best bet is… California.

Following on from the above finding, it was revelatory to discover that among the most delicate and refreshing styles of Pinot Noir were those from California – or Sonoma County to be more precise. Although one might associate the State with darker, heavier types of Pinot, the opposite is in fact true, with pale and light wines now emanating from this part of the US. That’s not to suggest they are unripe or thin, with Californian wines (Marimar and Cambria in particular) finding an appealing balance between soft red fruit flavours, a delicate mouthfeel and a bright acidity.

5: Marlborough is the most reliably-good source of mid-priced Pinot.

New Zealand as a whole performed extremely well in this year ’s Pinot Noir Masters, but if there’s one region where elegant reds are reliably good, it is Marlborough. This part of the country may be lagging in reputation behind Martinborough and Central Otago as a source of fine Pinot, but Marlborough certainly delivers when it comes to quality for the price. As Stoneleigh, Brancott and Marisco proved in 2024’s competition, with Marlborough-based vines – particularly in the Southern Valleys sub-region – you can craft pretty, fruity Pinot for less than £15.

6: Chile should be added to the list of great sources of Pinot Noir.

Normally when name-checking the nations outside Europe that are making a noise with Pinot Noir, it’s the US, then New Zealand and Australia that get the mentions, followed by South Africa, with South America often overlooked. But as this year ’s competition proved, Chile is an increasing force in Pinot – and not just at the cheaper end of the spectrum. In fact, Chile is now home to serious, distinctive and class-leading Pinot Noir – led by Ocio from Cono Sur, a Master winner in 2024 with its juicy fruit from maturing vines in the Pacific-cooled San Antonio wine region.

7: If you want to drink good Pinot on a budget, seek out Cramele Recas.

It’s normal to single out places when it comes to the source of fine Pinot, but actually, it’s often the skill of particular producers that makes the difference between OK examples and really good ones. In the fairly niche world of cheap Pinot, two producers spring to mind. One is Chile’s Cono Sur, but the other – and a star performer in 2024 – is Romania’s Cramele Recas, which picked up three Gold medals, all for Pinots priced sub-£10, and each one from a different panel of exacting judges. If you thought that it wasn’t possible to make fruity-fresh Pinot for the price of cheap Garnacha, you’d be wrong: this Romanian operator has managed it.

8: Portugal is a country worth considering for good Pinot Noir with an appealing personality.

One of the joys of tasting varietal wines without knowledge of their source is the possibility of being surprised. Among the discoveries this year was a really pretty, as well as juicy, Pinot from the region of Dão in Portugal – a part of this country better known for reds based on native grape variety Touriga Nacional. Called Bella, it comes from the Ideal Drinks portfolio of brands that was recently acquired by Taylor’s Port producer The Fladgate Partnership. With its new owner, this fine, affordable Pinot should soon become more widely available beyond its domestic borders. Judging by the quality of this 2021 expression, I certainly hope that’s the case.

9: Canada is a country to watch for fine Pinot Noir.

This year ’s Masters saw a number of Pinot Noirs from Canada, and they were impressive. Several of these were from Niagara, a region of course famous for its crashing waters that pour violently over a limestone escarpment, but also, in the wine world, increasingly for the quality of its cool-climate grapes – including both Gamay and Pinot Noir. Very fine examples among the latter included those from Big Head Wines. However, our topscoring Canadian Pinot for 2024 came from the Okanagan Valley, where Poplar Grove Winery has yielded a red wine of distinction, with layers of rich red berry fruit, toast and cocoa notes, complemented by a cleansing, blood orange-like acidity, and mouthwatering dry tannic structure.

10: Tasmania is now on the map as a top terroir for Pinot Noir.

Australia’s performance in 2024’s Global Pinot Noir Masters was impressive, with regions from Adelaide to the Yarra Valley wowing the judges for the quality of their Pinots. However, if one is to list the most consistently high-performing area of this country when it comes to this pernickety grape, it would be Tasmania. Dalrymple and Lowestoft were the two star producers, both yielding Pinots with lovely notes of ripe tomato and sweet cherry, complemented by dark chocolate, fresh orange, and a touch of subtle and refreshing mintiness. Neither heavy nor thin, these were balanced Pinots with energy and complexity, not concentration.

THE RESULTS IN FULL FROM THE GLOBAL PINOT NOIR MASTERS 2024

Sparkling White Pinot Noir (Blanc de Noirs)

Sparkling Rosé Pinot Noir

Still White Pinot Noir

Unoaked Rosé Pinot Noir

Unoaked Red Pinot Noir

Oaked Red Pinot Noir

Oaked Red Pinot Noir (continued)

Oaked Red Pinot Noir (continued)

About the competition

With high-quality judges and a unique sampling process, The Global Pinot Noir Masters provides a chance for your wines to shine. The 2024 competition was judged on 14 March at The Alfred Tennyson in London, employing experienced judges. The top wines were awarded Gold, Silver or Bronze medals according to their result, and those expressions that stood out as being outstanding received the ultimate accolade – the title of Pinot Noir Master. This report features the medal winners only. Please visit the Global Masters website for more information or, to enter future competitions – giving you the chance to feature online and in print – please call: +44 (0) 20 7803 2420 or email Sophie Raichura at: sophie@thedrinksbusiness.com