Pinot Noir and especially good Pinot Noir usually carries a higher price tag than most other varietal wines. This is in part owed to the fact that it is a low-yielding and notoriously difficult grape to grow, but there is also the reality that consumers are prepared to pay more for Pinot as a result of the eye watering prices of the best wines made from this variety in Burgundy.
Most of the decent Pinot Noir wines made here in Portugal cost anywhere from €20 to €30 or more, so I was curious to notice this Beyra Pinot Noir, new in at Apolónia last weekend, priced at €18.95 from the highly respected producer Rui Roboredo Madeira. This is the man who makes the excellent wines in the upper Douro under the CARM label and also owns the Beyra winery in the Beira Interior region south of the Douro, high in the hills near the Spanish border.
The wines he produces there all represent outstanding value for money and this reasonably priced Pinot is no exception. The 2017 (a great year in northern Portugal) was aged for a year in oak and then a further year in the bottle before release. It is just about ready for drinking and benefits from decanting a couple of hours before serving.
Lovely mature cherry and strawberry notes mingle on the nose with well integrated oak, medium bodied in the mouth with soft tannins and good acidity. Overall, this is an elegant and discreet Pinot that will no doubt become a lot more interesting after a few more years in the bottle.
