Despite the weather and disease pressure most vineyards picked fruit in good condition with average yields. The wet growing season saw higher than average berry weights compensating for any fruit that may have been lost to disease.

Good flavours were apparent, particularly in white varieties, and high levels of acid were retained. Some interesting Pinot Noirs may also be expected following such a long cool ripening period.

Vintage 2011 has been the most difficult for many years but vineyards with good canopy control and proper fruit exposure will still produce wines with good structure and flavours.

Reproduced with thanks to the Mornington Peninsula Vigneron’s Association www.mpva.com.au

In terms of what it can add to the wine, one obvious contribution is of more tannin. However with Pinot Noir notably high in phenolics (in spite of being relatively low in colour) there is no pressing need to extract more tannins from the stems. Some producers talk about the texture as being more even and broader. Another potential benefit is the whole bunches having intact berries that take longer to break up and start fermentation and thereby give a longer, slower fermentation.

Although counter-intuitive, including the stems could be a way of making finer, less extractive wines. This is because the stems in the ferment help aerate the must, making the vat more even in temperature and reducing the need for working the ferment with punching down and pumpovers. The fact that the fermentation is slower also allows for a more gentle maceration and the potential for elegant wines.

There is of course a significant and ever-present risk with using stems, namely the possibility of having green, stemmy, stalky characters dominate the wine’s aroma and flavour. Due to this, those who do like to use stems aim to have ‘ripe stems’, red or brown in colour, having been lignified during the ripening process. This is often brought up when the use of whole bunches at the Domaine de la Romanée Conti is discussed. The point is made that because the Domaine has such excellent sites for Pinot Noir, the stems tend to be riper and more suitable for including in the ferment than most other sites. Therefore, the argument goes, the use of stems by DRC does not mean that it is a suitable practice for everyone else. Even long-time practitioners of whole bunch inclusion, the Seysses family at Domaine Dujac, recently purchased a destemmer, although it has not been overburdened with work.

The use of stems is one winemaking technique for Pinot Noir that polarises producers, but that is part of the charm of Pinot Noir. Take a glass of DRC Richebourg (whole bunch) in one hand and a glass of Meo Camuzet Richebourg (destemmed) in the other, and each wine will persuasively make the case for its maker’s technique.

The fact that the cold soak allows extraction in an aqueous solution as opposed to an alcoholic solution provides some different outcomes, although some of the results that are attributed to cold soaking are disputed, in particular its effect on colour. However it does increase the duration of maceration, it may allow for more gentle extraction methods during and post fermentation, and many proponents believe that it can increase fruit flavour, aromatic intensity, and complexity.

Quite a few Pinot Noir makers like to ‘work’ the must – with plunging and pump-overs – more vigorously early in the ferment, and less intensely late in the ferment and after fermentation. The rising amount of alcohol in the must as it ferments, which makes it a more powerful solvent, makes the above a logical approach. The technique of post-fermentation maceration, where the skins are left with the fermented must for anything up to 10 days or occasionally even longer, is less widely embraced than the cold soak among Australian producers. The post fermentation maceration can result in the development of more complex characters, an increase in extraction of tannin, and a change in the tannic profile, with some claiming that tannins become softer during extended maceration due to polymerisation.

In New World viticulture, standard spacing is usually far wider, with 3 m x 1.8 m (1851 vines per hectare) and 3 m x 2 m (1666 vines per hectare) both common in Australia. These spacings have been successful for many varieties, and there are several justifications for them. One is that the vineyards are in drier environments and the vines need more soil per vine from which to get moisture.  Another theory is that vigour can be controlled by having a larger vine, a system that has been successful with Shiraz in Australia. However, many Pinot Noir producers suspect that higher vine density has the potential to bring quality benefits and are either embracing it or experimenting with it.

The most popular trellising and training systems for Pinot Noir include:

• Guyot – a cane pruned vine, with a cane (new each season) extending from the trunk horizontally. The shoots are trained upwards, vertically, from the cane. This is a very common system in Burgundy
• Cordon de Royat – a spur pruned vine, with an arm of old wood pruned to four spurs in Burgundy.
• VSP – Vertical Shoot Positioning – the most common system in New World Pinot Noir regions. Arms go in both directions from the trunk. Shoots are trained vertically and are kept in place with normally 4 foliage wires. Can be either a spur or cane-pruned system.
• Lyre – a system where the vine is opened up so there are two canopies from the one vine, going up in a V or U – shape from the top of the trunk. It is generally used where excess vigour is a problem.
• Scott-Henry – also used in moderately vigorous vineyards. A lower cane has the shoots trained downwards, and a higher cane has the shoots trained upwards, so the canopy is split between upper and lower, and there are two fruiting zones, which can result in uneven ripening.

It is important, though, to keep discussion of clones in perspective. Many growers of Pinot Noir point out that site trumps clone, in terms of decisions like determining harvest date, and most importantly in terms of quality. Another relevant factor for new world growers is the trade-off between new clones and old vines.  In most new world Pinot Noir regions, mature vines are at a premium, and if growers replace large amounts of vineyards with the latest exciting Dijon clones, the process of reaching the holy grail can be delayed by years.

Much of the following information is derived from the booklet produced by the Mornington Peninsula Vignerons Association, for their biennial Pinot Noir Celebration. We are indebted to them for allowing us access to the information.

D2V5
Origin – UC Davis, USA
Can sometimes be one-dimensional and thin: spicy, plum and fresh cherry flavours; can also have green and herbal flavours; low aromatics; higher acidity; structured tannins; medium weight; crops high.

D5V12
Origin – UC Davis, USA
Plum, cherry flavours; moderate tannins; medium weight; viticulturists love it – winemakers don’t.

G5V15 aka Clone 2A
Origin – UC Davis, USA
Good aromatics with dark cherry; may have green, herbal notes; lighter tannins; lighter body; must be cropped low to retain aromatics; sometimes described as simple, but can produce wines that rate and age well; prone to over-cropping; better aromatics at higher elevations and in red soil.

G8V3 aka Martini 58, UCD 13, FPMS 13
Origin – UC Davis, USA
Fruity, jammy, and succulent; not as vigorous or high-yielding as G5V15.

G8V7
Origin – UC Davis, USA
Similar to G8V3, with more aromatics.

H7V15
Origin – UC Davis, USA
Earthy, mushroom, forest berry flavours; more tannins and texture.

Mariafeld
Origin – Wadenswil, Switzerland
Spicy, low tannin, soft cherry, plummy, rich, higher colour and tannin, full mouth feel; needs to be grown on the proper site and have vine age; doesn’t always look or taste like most Pinot Noir clones.

MV6
Origin – Clos Vougeot, France
The most common clone in Australia; floppy canopy; small bunches and berries; concentrated plummy and meaty characters; impressive; rarely overcrops; great structure as a “foundation” clone in a blend.

18Gm
Origin – Giesenheim, Germany
Medium body; savoury flavours; solid and dependable.

Pommard (aka UCD 4, UCD 5, UCD 6, D4V2)
Origin – Pommard, via UC Davis, USA
More structure, dense, chewy texture, with “sweeter” nose.

114
Origin – Morey-St-Denis (one of the ‘Dijon’ or ‘Bernard’ clones)
Early ripening; medium purple hue; complex flavours; dark fruit and red fruit; Burgundian characters; good intensity; balanced, fine, and abundant tannin structure in the mouth.

115
Origin – Morey-St-Denis (one of the ‘Dijon’ or ‘Bernard’ clones)
Early ripening; medium colours; flavours more complex & tannic; dark fruit – cherry, plum, blackberry; intense; fine, rounded tannin structure; full bodied. Better complexity and aromatics than UC Davis clones.

386
Origin – Morey-St-Denis (one of the ‘Dijon’ or ‘Bernard’ clones)
Average, not exciting.

521
Origin – Morey-St-Denis (one of the ‘Dijon’ or ‘Bernard’ clones)
Average, not exciting.

667
Origin – Morey-St-Denis (one of the ‘Dijon’ or ‘Bernard’ clones)
Newly released in Australia; limited track record; beautiful strong colour; elegant bouquet; quite long; tannic, with structure for cellaring.

777
Origin – Morey-St-Denis (one of the ‘Dijon’ or ‘Bernard’ clones)
Newly released in Australia: limited track record; strong and intense colours; strong aromas; good balance; round tannins.

In addition to the above Australian perspective, the following observations on clonal selections from an Oregon, Californian, Brittish Columbia, and New Zealand can be made:

• the Pommard clone is very important in Oregon. Known as UCD 4, it is also the same clone as UCD 5 and 6, which are heat-treated releases of UCD 4 (Haeger).
• Mariafeld may be the same as one of two ‘Mariafeld’ clones in the USA,  UCD 17 or 23.
• Clones 1A and 2A were imported to UC Davis from the Wadenswil research station in Switzerland (or they were imported from Burgundy but certified at Wadenswil), and 2A (G5V15 in Australia) became very important in Oregon, where, according to Haeger, it accounts for nearly one third of Pinot Noir plantings.
• Another selection from Dr. Raymond Bernard, sourced from Morey-St-Denis (the Jean-Marie Ponsot vineyards) is not mentioned above. It is 113, which is planted in the USA in both Oregon and California. Another new clone from Burgundy, 828, is also planted in the USA.

113
Origin – Morey-St-Denis (one of the ‘Dijon’ or ‘Bernard’ clones)
Early maturing, and producing robust and complex wines with good acidity and colour.

828
Origin –  Burgundy
Early maturing, produces robust and complex wines with good acidity and colour.

In New Zealand, two clones imported from Wadenswil are widely planted. They are:

AM 10/5
Origin – Wadenswil, Switzerland
Dark cherry characteristics with elegance on the palate (variations to this clone often occur in the field).

2/10
Origin – Wadenswil, Switzerland
Similar to AM 10/5, but with more depth and ripe berry characters, rather than elegance. Can have stalky elements.

Another clone widely planted in New Zealand is a suitcase selection from Vosne Romanee that was picked up at customs by a sympathetic customs officer called Abel and put through quarantine.

Abel aka Gumboot, Ata Rangi
Origin – Vosne-Romanee
Rich, aromatic characters.