Text by: Greg Somm
This column is written by The Gold Certified ASI Sommelier, Chef-sommelier of WineHall Company and a MS Diploma Candidate, Greg Somm.
After another opportunity to compare wines from two of the most extraordinary estates that create the best Pinot Noirs in the World, I began to think that we are in a certain sense at the apogee of the level of the class of wine from this variety. Never before has there been such a thing that the level of wine of a foreign winemaker in Burgundy acquired the status of a benchmark.
Kei Shiogai proves year after year that he is a talented winemaker who knows how to learn, adopt experience and embody his thoughts in wine. The 2022 vintage in his performance is a clear proof of this. In addition, he breaks certain rules, showing that a merchant in Burgundy is capable of creating wines head and shoulders above many great domains. Isn't this proof that in modern winemaking, a person plays a leading role? Terroir in Kei's case is him, his sense of wine and energy.
Another example is the wines of Domaine de la Cote from Santa Rita Hills in Santa Barbara. I have never seen such an obsessive person working with Pinot Noir as Rajat Parr. In 2018 we met him at the estate and he told in detail what and how they do. And again, not in the context of terroir, but in the context of style and his feelings. Raj is one of the few who has seen and knows how wine is made at DRC, and they applied all this experience to Domaine de la Cote. As a result, we have wines that are like twins but made in different places and by different masters. Fantastic duality!
