The World’s Best Pinot Noir According To The Decanter World Wine Awards

Six Pinot Noir wines won Platinum medals at the 2024 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA). The competition is the largest wine competition in the world and is considered among the most prestigious. Over 18,000 wines were entered in the recently completed 2024 judging. Below are tasting notes on the six winners and some background on their producers. All six medalists had identical scores of 97/100 points.

Domaine Histoire D’enfer, L’enfer Du Calcaire Pinot Noir 2019, 13.9% ABV, 750 ml

Domaine Histoire D’enfer is a boutique winery in Salquenen, Valais, Switzerland. Established with a focus on high-quality, small-batch production, the winery’s name, “Histoire D’enfer,” translates to “Hell’s History,” reflecting their region’s challenging but rewarding viticulture. The winery is dedicated to expressing the unique terroir of Valais through its wines.

The vineyards are characterized by limestone-rich soils, contributing to the wines’ minerality and elegance.

This Pinot Noir reveals a stunning ruby color with a bouquet that features aromas of ripe red cherries, cranberries, and subtle floral notes. The palate is nuanced and complex, with layers of red fruit, minerality, and a hint of spice. The texture is silky, with fine, well-ripened tannins and a balanced acidity that leads to a long, elegant finish. The limestone influence is evident, adding a distinct minerality and freshness to the wine.

The DWWA Judging panel described the wine as featuring:

Enchanting raspberry, strawberry, and freshly picked cherries charm and delight with a delicious infusion of sumptuous red licorice, clove, and star anise rippling alongside. Capacious and warming with a simmering gravelly undertone of mineral tannin. Superb!

Audeant Wines, Luminous Hills Pinot Noir 2021, 12.9% ABV, 750 ml

Audeant Wines, located in the Willamette Valley, Oregon, is a small family-owned winery dedicated to crafting premium Pinot Noir wines. The winery emphasizes sustainable farming practices and minimal intervention in the winemaking process to preserve the fruit’s purity and the vineyard’s distinct characteristics.

The vineyards are situated on a mix of volcanic and sedimentary soils at an elevation of approximately 700 feet above sea level.

Luminous Hills Pinot Noir is a vibrant and expressive wine with a deep garnet hue. The nose is filled with aromas of black cherries, raspberries, and a touch of earthiness. It offers a rich texture on the palate with flavors of dark fruit, cocoa, and a hint of spice. The wine is well-structured with fine tannins and a bright acidity, culminating in a long, nuanced finish.

The DWWA Judging Panel described the wine as exhibiting:

Ripe crushed cherries and perfumed red flowers leap out of the glass and cascade over the crunchy, youthful palate; with an immersive texture, silky smooth tannins and a squeaky-clean acidity. Impressively long and memorable.

Bay of Fires, Pinot Noir 2022, 13.6% ABV, 750 ml

Bay of Fires is a prominent winery in Tasmania, Australia, renowned for its cool-climate wines. The winerys location provides ideal conditions for growing high-quality Pinot Noir, characterized by intense flavors and balanced acidity. The vineyards feature sandy loam and volcanic soils, which help to produce wines with great finesse and complexity.

This Pinot Noir from Bay of Fires is elegant and refined, showcasing a beautiful translucent ruby color. The nose reveals aromas of violets, blackberries, and a hint of spice. The palate is silky and smooth, with flavors of dark cherries, plums, and subtle oak undertones. The wine has a vibrant acidity and fine-grained tannins that provide structure and length, leading to a graceful finish.

In describing the wine, the DWWA Judging Panel noted:

Prior to 2024, we’ve never had a Tasmanian Pinot in our Best In Show selection. This year we have two. Was it because 2022 was a sensational vintage? Not exactly – the east coast of the island suffered from a spectacularly cool, wet season; elsewhere on the island, though, conditions did indeed vary from good to outstanding.

The first wine in our pair is a pan-Tasmanian blend with source fruit from several regions. It is a translucent dark red in colour, with warm, settled aromas of plum, cherry, and raspberry just teased towards sweetness with subtle oak. It is warm, soft and mouth-filling, built on the same core of subtly mingled fruits with muted, natural acidity and fine tannins, the combination giving an almost silky charm to the wine. This considered, restrained winemaking lays the groundwork for a Pinot which is hugely easy to drink yet at the same time deeply satisfying and highly amenable – a Pinot to sip on its own, to chill with fish or to serve at a cool room temperature for white meats and salads.

Yarra Yering, Pinot Noir 2022, 13% ABV, 750 ml

Yarra Yering is one of the most iconic wineries in the Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia. Established in 1969, it has a long history of producing exceptional wines that reflect the region’s terroir.

The vineyards are planted on a mix of sandy clay loam and volcanic soils, which enhance the aromatic complexity and structure of the wines.

The Yarra Yering Pinot Noir is a wine of great elegance and complexity. It is a light ruby color. It features fragrant aromas of red berries, roses, and a hint of forest floor on the nose. The wine is finely textured on the palate with flavors of strawberries, cherries, and delicate spice. The tannins are soft and silky, complemented by a refreshing acidity that enhances the wine’s length and balance.

The DWWA Judging Panel described the wine as being:

Alive with bright red cherry, raspberry and strawberry fruit with just a subtle hint of five spice oak. Solid and smooth with velvety tannins and a melting spine of acidity. Long and lingering with a vanilla plum finale.

Lowestoft, Single Vineyard Jacoben Pinot Noir 2022, 13.5% ABV, 750 ml

Lowestoft is a premium wine producer in the Derwent Valley, Tasmania, Australia. The winery focuses on single-vineyard expressions that highlight the distinct characteristics of their unique terroirs. The vineyards are characterized by sandy loam over clay, which helps to produce wines with depth and complexity.

This Single Vineyard Jacoben Pinot Noir is a testament to the exceptional quality of Tasmanian Pinot Noir. It displays a brilliant ruby color with a bouquet of red cherries, wild strawberries, and subtle floral notes on the nose. The palate is rich and layered, offering dark fruit flavors, earthy undertones, and a touch of spice. The wine is well-structured with refined, well-integrated tannins and vibrant acidity, leading to a long, elegant finish.

In describing the wine, the DWWA Judging Panel observed:

The second of this year’s outstanding 2022 Tasmanian Pinot Noirs comes from the Derwent Valley, just north of Hobart and in the rain shadow of Mount Wellington. The region can be drought-susceptible in warm summers, but in the wetter season of 2022 its site stood it in good stead.

This is a darker wine than its pan-Tasmanian peer, but beautifully crafted: singing red fruits without any shadowing from oak and with the intrinsic grace and charm of the Derwent Valley’s fruit well to the fore. On the palate, it is pure, bright, and mouth-filling, packed with juicy raspberry; both tannins and acids are soft and sustaining. They nourish and ease the gorgeous fruit core through the palate to a gently subsiding finish. There’s just a touch of tarry complexity behind those fruits. Virtuoso work from a Pinot region of extraordinary promise.

McArthur Ridge, Southern Tor Pinot Noir 2022, 13.5% ABV, 750 ml

McArthur Ridge is in the Alexandra Basin, Central Otago, New Zealand. The winery is known for its high-altitude vineyards, which produce Pinot Noir with distinctive character and depth. The vineyards feature schist, gravel, and sandy loam soils, which contribute to the wines’ concentration and minerality.

Southern Tor Pinot Noir is a beautifully crafted wine with a deep ruby color. The nose is expressive, with aromas of blackberries, dark cherries, and a hint of spice. The palate is rich and concentrated, featuring layers of ripe fruit, earthy notes, and well-integrated oak. The tannins are firm yet velvety, and the wine’s bright acidity provides balance and length, resulting in a complex and satisfying finish.

In commenting on the wine, the DWWA Judging Panel noted:

We may not have found any Burgundian Pinot Noir wines to feature in this year’s Best In Show selection, but three Pinots from the Southern Hemisphere goes some way to compensate. This example from the Alexandra Basin sub-region shows why there is so much excitement about Central Otago.

It’s translucent dark red in color, with articulate aromas of warm red berries, red cherries, and root spice. It’s softly articulated on the palate and sweet-fruited, with great grace and poise. The wine’s structure comes more prominently from its acidity than from its relatively discreet tannin profile. In just two years, it has already begun to soften and open; look out for stones and an herbal complexity, as well as root spice, on the finish.

These six wines have been recognized for their exceptional quality, reflecting their respective producers’ unique terroirs and winemaking expertise. They are, without question, among the very best Pinot Noir wines in the world.