Pannonhalmi Apátsági Pincészet, Pinot Noir For Discount

Pannonhalmi Apátsági Pincészet, Pinot Noir

Winemakers call Pinot Noir the “heartbreak grape” because it is so delicate and difficult to work with, but everyone goes ahead and plants it anyway: The rewards, when you get it right, are too tantalizing to pass up.

As someone said, anything worth doing is going to be difficult—a sentiment the Benedictine monks of Pannonhalma, Hungary took to heart. The vineyards surrounding their historic abbey had been appropriated by the state under Communist rule, but the 50 or so monks still residing at the abbey got the chance to re-acquire the land in 2000; among other varieties, they took the risk on Pinot Noir and have been producing gorgeous wines in their ancient cellars ever since. Composed of fruit from three historic sites, this limpid, red-fruited beauty channels Burgundian elegance without ever losing its own personal sense of terroir. Tasted blind, I knew the Pinot in my glass was from somewhere unusual, and was thrilled at the realization that this kind of quality could correlate with such an appetizing price. When it comes to Pinot Noir value, I remain a dyed-in-the-wool partisan for Oregon’s Willamette Valley, but this wine has opened my mind to thrilling new possibilities. It is simply exceptional in every way, every bit as good as anything we’ve offered from Oregon, Germany, California, Burgundy…you name it. I’ll be going back to this one again and again, and once you’ve tasted it, you will, too!