Tinpot Hut

I do like a Pinot Noir. I think I have chosen one six or seven times amongst the 157 previous weekly wines in these pages, and that seems quite restrained, given my preferences. They have come from a variety of places, including France, Australia, New Zealand and California, but have not to date included Chile and that surprises me as one of my favourites is Errazuriz Coastal Series, or at least it was when I knew where to get it. This one is, I believe, the fourth from New Zealand and I chose it not only because the branding begins with the correct letter, but also because of the retailer from whom I bought it.

Week T (2021) Tinpot Hut Pinot Noir 2017. Wigginton Community Shop £16.50

I am proud to have been a volunteer at the community shop since it opened in December 2018 on the day after I gave up on the idea of earning a living. It is a cheerful little place with a good selection of fresh foods, convenience goods, gifts and, most pleasingly, wine. And cheese, of course.

The wines range from about £8 a bottle (if you ignore the 'wine based drinks' with cartoon branding at which I wince when putting them through the till) up to £20 for the Chablis and more again for the Champagne. There's even some PX Sherry, brought in for the Christmas crowd and maturing nicely for next year when we hope someone will be wise enough to buy it and pour it over their ice cream. So this one is mid-to-upper in the shop's range.

In terms of global Pinot Noir prices it is quite near the bottom, but still about twice as much as the elusive Errazuriz used to be. Top end Burgundies cost obscene amounts of cash and, if I hadn't attended in ~2010 an event hosted by Berry Bros & Rudd entitled 'a walk through Gevrey-Chambertin', I wouldn't believe there could be any possibility of their prices being justified. In fact, I still can't but I have tasted the difference between bottles priced at £35 and those at £350 and have to admit there is a difference. Is it a difference worthy of a ten-fold hike in price? That's impossible to answer even for those who can afford it, but for me, no. Incidentally, at £350 a bottle we would still be a long way behind the £24,000 BBR would ask for a bottle of the 2015 DRC Grand Cru. For a drink? Really? Maybe if you are a premier league footballer and you fancy a swift one after trousering £60,000 for a week's work (that's the average) it might appeal, but championship players might think that a bit steep. I believe the highest paid premier chap is currently getting £600,000 a week so maybe he could get a case and share it out?

Sorry, I seem to have gone off on one for bit. My point is, I am never going to taste those wines and despite what you might think from the above, I couldn't care less. For the majority of the world's wine drinkers those bottles are a total irrelevance. So, what have we got here and is it worth it's paltry price?

It is a medium bodied, fragrant wine with flavours of red cherry and subtle spice, and silky tannins that are felt mostly in the finish. It is smooth and gently complex with what some wine typists who are even more pretentious than moi may describe as an ethereal quality. I don't know exactly what that means, but it is something along the lines of 'it is not just a fruity drink, but suggests it has something that is difficult to define'.

I like it. But then I like Pinot Noir. Key question: is it worth £16.50 a bottle? Well, yes and no. It isn't ever going to challenge the big names and cheaper wines like the Errazuriz Coastal Series still exist even if I can't find them, but there are plenty of Pinot Noirs in the £40-£60 that aren't that much more interesting than this one.

Will I but it again? Yes, but only from the truly splendid Wigginton Community Shop (with excellent ancillary cafe).