Available in Michelin-starred restaurants such as Tom Kerridge’s Hand & Flowers, Luke’s pinot noir brings bouquets of red fruit and a pleasant cleanness that allows the subtle, crunchy raspberry and redcurrant notes to shine. This wine has been aged in French and American oak and spicy vanilla abounds, making it a wine to sip and savour. Errazuriz Wild Ferment Pinot Noir is a Chilean red wine made from grapes harvested in the Casablanca Valley. The wine fermented using only native, wild yeasts, the naturally occurring yeast on the skins of the grapes. Made in a European style (read: subtle), this pinot noir is a world away from the usual intense coloured rose, and even further still from delicate pale Provences. Instead, this wine is fresh and clean with that characteristic pinot noir cherry and raspberry. At the same time, a strong minerality and a slight savouriness give it a grown-up elegance that you may not expect. This will be no surprise to anyone who has bought any of the exciting, unusual and far flung wines from specialists Wanderlust Wines before. Spectacular with salads and any light meats.

The grapes for Errazuriz Wild Ferment Pinot Noir come from La Escultura vineyard, which is located west of Santiago in the Casablanca Valley. Just 20 miles from the Pacific Ocean, the vineyard is affected by cool coastal breezes that moderate the temperatures during the ripening period. This allows the grapes to ripen gradually and completely while developing pleasing aromas and flavours and maintaining desired acidity levels, which makes the Casablanca Valley particularly suitable to grow the Pinot Noir variety. Aconcagua Costa vineyard which is closer located just 12 km. Warm summer days, morning fog and fresh evening breezes that blow in from the coast, allow for a gradual ripening process of the grapes that helps to preserve their aromas, flavours and acidity. The soil presents fine clay and sandy loam textures with low vigour potential. VintageThe grapes come from selected vineyards that grow near the Pacific Ocean coast in the Aconcagua Region, on hills at an altitude of 100 to 300 meters above sea level. The gentle Pacific breeze and morning fog make these vineyards ideal for producing varieties such as Pinot Noir. Vintage Burgundian pinot noir is seen as the benchmark. It tends to have good acidity, with fine fruit flavours of cherries and berries, and subtler notes ranging from earthiness and spice to herbaceous or woody tastes, which can be extremely complex.

If you’re after something easy drinking with straightforward fruit then this isn’t it, but there’s much to love in this tart, interesting bottle. It must be chilled, and its robust character means it stands up to richer and stronger dishes better than most pinot noir. Try with barbecued salmon or tuna or deep gamey flavours. We’re going to put this out there: this is a love it or hate it wine. We’re in the former camp, seduced by the complexity and value of this Chilean pinot noir, where the cool climate of the Aconcagua region and Pacific winds, plus all the sunshine, create crisp, bright wines that allow for a pure expression of their terroir. We test every pinot noir that comes across our desk the only way possible – by tasting it. We look for typical, or surprising, aromas on the nose, give extra points for bright, berry-red clarity, and taste for the winemaker’s flavour notes, as well as hopefully discovering a few of our own. The best way to ensure we are delivering the truest picture of great pinot noir, is by tasting each sample alongside many others. This helps us to rule out those not quite hitting the right notes and allowing the best of the bunch to stand out against more mediocre wines. The testing process also considers the style of wine. No one is going to expect an old world Burgundian style pinot noir from a Romanian producer, but it is by no means any less valid in our recommendations.

It’s this terroir that is the overriding flavour of this wine: tons of earthiness and forest floor notes plus smoke – all of which are desirable and should be pronounced in a classic pinot noir – tethered with delicate strawberries, cherries and crunchy redcurrant notes. There’s also a smattering of oak in there, too. Outside of the Burgundy region, the character of pinot noir depends hugely on the terroir (climate and growing conditions of the vines) and winemakers’ methods. So, while cool climate versions from big pinot noir-producing countries such as Romania, Austria and Germany will still often have the same lively fruitiness to them, they also have a deeper savoury character. Warmer regions such as Australia and California produce quite a different wine: riper, rounder and less bright. If the wine has been aged in oak barrels, expect a more mature, softer style with a hint of vanilla. How much should I spend? Undoubtedly a very challenging 2020 season, presenting the driest winter of the last 50 years. The vineyards in the Aconcagua Region had to endure an intense hydric marathon to accomplish ripeness. Warm temperatures, especially in springtime, ended the season with a slightly colder March and April. Moderate crop yield and abundant irrigation in summer helped maintain the freshness and quality of the vines. Winemaking

Hush Heath’s vineyards nestled in the Kent countryside may be better known for their multi-award-winning sparkling wine (the sparkling rosé is truly brilliant), but the sunny but cool climate has also proved a winner for red iterations of pinot noir. Created from grapes planted specifically for still wine production, this classy red is one of the UK’s best, and it easily stands up to New World comparisons. The grapes for Wild Ferment Pinot Noir come from La Escultura vineyard, located in Casablanca Valley, 32 kilometres from the Pacific Ocean and from our