Ok, I have to admit it. I have never heard of a white pinot noir before so this wine peaked my curiosity. I got to taste it at the iYellow Pino event. Flat Rock Cellars have been doing some great stuff. I really enjoy their Gravity Pinot Noir and I consider it to be one of my favorites in Niagara. The wine is slightly golden in color with a nose of honey reminiscent of a Chardonnay, and some oak as well. On the mid pallet the wine’s taste matches the bouquet with very chard like elements. Some honey, some vanilla, some creamyness, and a little butterscotch and a bit of butter. If you closed your eyes you could imagine this being a California style chard. The finish is medium in length and would be VERY food friendly. I would give this a 90. It is only available at the winery and is $35.20 a bottle. Unique experiences do not come cheap! I’d love to get a bottle of this to do a more in depth tasting.
From the Flat Rock web site:
Well, somehow this red grape variety became a white wine, with a peachy tinge to it. Ross has kept his winemaking techniques very secretive for this wine, but we suspect it involves French oak barrels and maybe some lees stirring based upon the creamy butterscotch and toasty, spirit like oak characteristics.
He suggested we stop asking questions and just taste it. Here’s what we found:
On the nose you could be forgiven for thinking this was in fact a Chardonnay. That is until you catch the distinctive Pinot Noir like characters in the background, such as strawberries, rhubarb, and a hint of earthiness.
The palate is ridiculously smooth and velvety. There is a layer of fruit driven flavours including canned peaches, berries and rhubarb. And then comes the minerality, ever present in wines grown from our limestone rich soils.
