Pinot Noir from Burgundy and Beyond
by Tom Wolf
2024 Sancerre Rouge
France | Loire
Dark-fruited and earthy, Simon Chotard’s rouge is a complex and vibrant testament to what Pinot Noir is capable of in the Loire Valley, in the right terroir, and in the right hands. It’s elegant and pedigreed, but by all counts, unpretentious and inviting.
2025 Alsace Pinot Noir
France | Alsace
Picnics, potlucks... however you gather this fall, here is the Alsatian Pinot to bring. Bright and brambly, Kuentz-Bas’ is a lighthearted and food-friendly expression of the grape!
2025 Bourgogne Rouge
France | Burgundy
Valentin Montanet’s native Vézelay is mostly Chardonnay country, but for my money, he is every bit as adept with Pinot Noir as he is with his home turf’s leading white grape. For this cuvée, he takes Pinot from Vézelay and blends it with grapes from Volnay and Mercurey, making it not only a truly representative Bourgogne rouge but also a delicious one. If I could choose any Bourgogne to have on tap at my house, it might be this one.
2024 Bourgogne Côte Chalonnaise Rouge “La Digoine”
France | Burgundy
Like La Sœur Cadette, Domaine de Villaine made its name with a white grape—Aligoté—but has also crafted gorgeous Pinot Noirs for decades. Velvety and faintly earthy, La Digoine teems with notes of bing cherry, raspberry, and black tea. I searched every inch of this bottle for the words “premier cru” because, to my palate anyway, it might as well be one.