Who doesn't know Pinot?

It's a varietal that's beloved and expressed all around the world, from Oregon, US, to Burgundy, France, and everywhere in between, from South Africa to New Zealand.

Will The Real Pinot Noir Please Stand Up?

Yet, perhaps what might not be as well known is that behind the single varietal "Pinot Noir" name that we often see on labels, is over 1,000 Pinot Noir clones that exist of the same varietal! Whilst these clones share the same fundamental DNA, over the century, vintners have selected and propagates specific vines that express particularly desirable traits - and they've done so through clones! Whilst the viticultural (and really agricultural) practice of cloning is well understood and has been practiced for as long as humans have harvested, proper clonal research where it comes to Pinot Noir had only started in the early 1900's, and because Pinot Noir is a genetically unstable varietal, no other grape varietal comes close in terms of how important cloning is to its viticulture.

If you're in the business of making Pinot Noir, thin skins characteristic of the varietal is besides the challenge of finding the right set of clones. (Image Source: The Swirl)

Historically, the whole movement towards Pinot Noir cloning was started as a result of the devastating phylloxera outbreak in the late 1800's, which destroyed vineyards across Europe. It was of course eventually discovered that a resistant vine could be created by grafting European vines onto American rootstocks. Nevertheless this bred new problems, with these new vines running into issues in terms of susceptibility to other diseases, as well as inconsistent yields and quality. Pragmatically, it was difficult to raise a whole industry back up without much guarantee of any reliability of its vines, and thus this galvanised the need for proper research into propagation programs across Europe.

Over the century, what started out with the base goal of selecting clones that exhibited an ability to produce sufficiently good yields (with clones that showed good sugar accumulation and early ripening) whilst avoiding diseases, eventually geared itself towards more aesthetic and flavour preferences, controlling for colour, tannin structure and aromatic intensity. 

Dr Harold Olmo, one of the most important figures in winemaking.

This all became much more official when the governments and institutions got involved in helping to study, catalog and distribute (under license) the clones in a more consolidated and systematic fashion. In particular, a Dr Harold Olmo began in the 1940's the work of collecting clonal samples from all around the world at the University of California, Davis' Foundation Plant Services (of FPS). He would call upon winemakers to donate their clones to the institute, and would help distribute key commercially viable clones from Switzerland, France, Germany and the US, to vintners worldwide. It was here that the crucial Dijon clones were formalised (and were so named after the sender's address written on the parcel containing the samples!), along with other key samples like the Pommard from Burgundy (also the oldest dated sample from 1951), Wadenswil from Switzerland, and the Swan and Martini from California, US.

And thus today, with over 1,000 Pinot Noir clones, it is through the tireless and extensive work, as well as the generous donations of vintners from around the world, that just a handful for commercially viable clones have become the lynchpin to vineyards all over, underpinning the simple "Pinot Noir" label on any wine bottle of the varietal today.

Huailai, Hebei Province, China.

Pinot Noir Experiments In The Promised Land

And whilst this is a topic so critical when talking about Pinot Noir, you'll seldom see any indication of the clone(s) used for a bottle of Pinot, much less have the chance to taste several single clone expressions side by side from the same vineyard, vintage and made with the same winemaking regime - but as it turns out, we're incredibly fortunate that one of China's most advanced and innovative wineries have done just that!

Today, we're at the Praelum Wine Bistro in Singapore with Canaan Winery and its winemaker, Zhao Desheng, who will be taking us through these Pinot Noir clones, where we will get to taste each clone's expression side by side, leading up to its grand cuvee, the Mastery Pinot Noir!

Canaan And The Domaine Franco Chinois's Historic Importance And DNA Of Innovation

The Canaan Winery in Huailai of the Hebei Province of central Northern China is one that whilst seemingly young, carries a deep historic connection that radiates through the winery an intensity in the way it thinks about winemaking - one that heavily emphasises experimenting, learning and thereby innovation.

Yet years before the Canaan Winery (named after the biblical reference for the "Promised Land") was established in 2006 - the result of an intensive 2 year search conducted by an elite team of wine experts from University of California, Davis and Purdue University, commissioned to find the perfect parcel that could produce China's finest wine - as it turns out, the massive potential of the Huailai basin was already recognised by yet another group of wine experts, this time French vintners the likes of Pierre Labruyère, who had helped to establish the Sino-French Demonstration Vineyard.

French President Jacques Chirac and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, whose bilateral agreement included the creation of the Sino-French Demonstration Vineyard.

The Sino-French Demonstration Vineyard, which would later be renamed as the Domaine Franco-Chinois as part of its privatisation efforts, was the result of a key geopolitical bilateral partnership between France and China, with the hopes of deepening ties between the two countries, represented by French President Jacques Chirac and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. The two countries would trade expertise, one of which highlighted was that of winemaking, with France having sent equipment, exported to China expertise, and imported from China a fresh generation of young winemakers eager to learn, and all the whilst setting up the wireframes for studying how various grape varieties would perform in China - oh, and also Marselan (a cross between Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache), now China's unofficial signature variety, was the first to be planted at the very vineyard!

Canaan Winery.

As Canaan began establishing itself in Huailai, it would also absorb the Domaine Franco Chinois (also known as DFC), where perhaps most crucially, it would appoint the Domaine's chief winemaker Zhao Desheng to the helm of both wineries. This embedded a strong core DNA of experimenting, observing and constantly improving winemaking at the two neighbouring wineries. It is often instantly remarked by those familiar with China's wine scene the staggering professionalism and research driven intensity of Canaan and the DFC, featuring a wide range of varietals being farmed from well-known international's to esoterically native ones, each carefully studied, parcel by parcel, as to how they take to the Chinese terroir. And thus over the past close to two decades, every morsel of data has been collected and analysed, and yet when speaking to the winery's team, it often feels like their belief is that they're really only just beginning to fully understand their local terroir - or perhaps it's just sheer humility, after all Huailai is not exactly the most gentle of terrains. This has nevertheless won the winery quite the acclaim, being the only Chinese vineyard to be named in the World's 100 Best Vineyards ranking for 2023 and 2024.

The Huailai terroir.

Huailai, just over an hour's drive out from Beijing, is an incredibly unique site, a rarity even in the vast expanses of the Middle Kingdom. Winemaker Desheng mentions that there are only two regions in China that feature the sort of steep and lengthy incline that is found there - Huailai and Shangri-La. With a section of the Great Wall snaking through parts of the mountain ranges along Huailai, at its base, a reservoir, Guanting Lake, is to be found, and serves as a natural air temperature regulator. The high elevation allows for a gradient of temperatures that goes down as the altitude goes up, creating pockets which feature similarities to the climate found in Bordeaux and Burgundy, with even areas that would be familiar to that of Austria and Germany. It is here, amidst the at times harshly cold climate, that one might sometimes find the peculiar site of vines being buried in soil, a practice done by the winery to protect the vines from the cold.

Canaan isn't just going to be another Cab Sauv player.

In many ways, Canaan's mission is an extension of the earlier set forth goals of the DFC - to first understand the local terroir and to then figure out what works over here, in order to then produce great wines, and in so doing, express a distinct sense of place. And thus that makes winemaker Desheng perhaps best suited to lead the wineries. Having joined DFC in 2001, he was quickly whisked away to Bordeaux to learn winemaking as part of the bilateral agreement between China and France, and would return in 2003 to continue his work at the DFC, focused largely on studying how French varietals took to the Chinese terroir. At Canaan, he's got American vines added to his stable, and also a much larger and more modern winery handed to him by tech founder Cher Wang, of HTC fame. With a total of 320 hectares for both Canaan (which is divided into three sites, growing over 15 varietals) and DFC, he's able to produce up to 1,000,000 bottles per year, however, he's of course opted for a figure that's far more restrained, keeping production to just about half of that.

6 Pinot Noir Clones, 1 Mastery

And thus today, we've got the terrific fortune to have Chief Winemaker Desheng take us through one of the winery's key experimental focus - the blending and use of Pinot Noir clones. In brief, the winery uses 6 Pinot Noir clones that it then blends together to form the cuvee that is its Mastery Pinot Noir label. For the purposes of helping the wine community better appreciate the craftsmanship of Canaan's Pinot Noir cuvee, it's very excitingly broken the cuvee down into its Pinot Noir clonal expressions - which very unfortunately is not for sale as each vintage yields only about 100-120 sets of these single clone bottles - and has given each single clone expression a personality trait that the winery feels best suits its flavour profile. As there's insufficient yields, the 6th Pinot Noir clone used in the Mastery cuvee is not part of the set.

These Pinot Noir single clone labels are as follows:

For this 2019 Pinot Noir Clone set, in order for a meaningful examination of the various clonal expressions, Desheng had produced them under a set of parameters that was to be held constant. The parameters were as follows - all Pinot Noir vines irrespective of the clone, was planted at Canaan's Site 16 vineyard (sized at 73.4 hectares) at an altitude of 920-1,050m, where the average annual temperature was 8.86°C. The various clones were vinified with 14 ddays of skin contact, and then fermented in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks, after which they were aged for 14-16 months in small French oak barrels. The first vintage of the Pinot Noir clones was made in 2016, and annually just 600 bottles per clone is produced, of which 120 is used to produced the Pinot Noir Clone set.

Winemaker Desheng further elaborated that when it comes to making Pinot Noir, there are several key levers a winemaker can pull to determine the flavour profile of the final expression. These relate to the choice of whether to use wild yeast or commercial yeasts, the fermenter set up (open versus closed top), the length and method of extraction, whether fermentation is done with stems or in whole bunches, and then finally how the wines are aged. He elaborates that beyond flavour profiles and styles, there's also yield and resistance considerations as well, and that ultimately Pinot Noir, as many know, is a fickle and difficult varietal to work with. For example, whilst wild yeasts may result in more character, it's also difficult to maintain consistency and runs a high risk if it does not work out, and thus commercial yeasts offer much more stability and reliability, essential for scale. However, he's quick to mention that Canaan sees itself as still very much in the process of learning and experimenting and thus the choice of methods will inevitably evolve with time.

Where it comes to Canaan's Pinot Noir clones, in the vineyards, it is observed that the Pinot Noir vines tend to ripen early with early budding and moderate to low vigor. The clusters are mostly compact and particular clones were selected to be suitable for cooler growing regions. Canaan believes that a longer growing season in cooler climates can enhance the fruit's complexity and reduce disease pressure, thus ensuring quality. Nevertheless, Desheng remarks that the early spring temperatures in such a cool environment requires careful monitoring for issues such as early bud break and frost damage. And thus common to its cultivation across the Pinot Noir clones is the need to control shoot growth as well as yields, with the shoots typically pliable and requiring of timely tying (tricky given the short window to do so and such a large vineyard!). The winery observes a high fruit set and a tendency for secondary fruits which necessitates timely thinning. And then of course, the team is constantly on the look out for diseases that the vines are especially susceptible to, including sour rot, botrytis, downy mildew and powdery mildew.

Canaan and DFC Winemaker Zhao Desheng with his Pinot Noir clones!

In terms of winemaking, harvest timing is key, with the greatest emphasis placed on phenolic ripening. The winery uses a 2-tier sorting system for both cluster and berry sorting, after which the fruit is cold soaked for 5 days before fermentation. The same winemaking protocol is used for batches fermented with the same yeasts, and aging is typically done with malolactic fermentation taking place in one-year old French oak.

And so without further ado, let's get into it!

Wine Review: Canaan Winery 灵 ling, Dynamic, Wadenswil Pinot Noir 2019

The Wadenswil clone comes from the namesake town in Switzerland, Wadenswil, where it was selected by the Swiss Federal Research Station in 1950. It was then brought for dissemination by the University of California-Davis in 1952. It works best in cool climate regions, with early ripening, and features excellent disease resistance. Its flavour profile typically shows red fruits, spice, herbals, high acidity, elegant tannins, with good structure.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Ruby

Aroma: It opens rather jammy, filled with strawberry jams and jellies. Also with bits of earthiness of chocolate and tobacco. More rosiness ensues with rose petals, potpourri, also some perfumed talcum powder and confectionary tones of vanilla, and then a side of more rustic qualities of hay and animal fur. It's incredibly aromatic and perfumed, really evocative and heady. 

Taste: More acidity comes through here, it's lighter bodied, again tinted by red and rosy notes of strawberries, tart red cherries, with some gentle acidity coming through besides that moderate richness and depth. This leans lighter, although remains well saturated. 

Finish: The tart red fruits persist with some richness into the finish, with a crack of black pepper and a firm finish. A light powderiness lingers.

My Thoughts

Really lovely aromas that are evocative and heady, really rosy and perfumed that just immerses you in with its richness and suppleness - which I also found it possessing of good complexity and being rather multifaceted. On the body, it comes across much lighter, yet still with good saturation, however as such curtails the depth and richness that it was able to convey. It held on to the red fruits nicely with good control of the acidity that was very well integrated into the body. It had a nice firm finish, with a delicate powderiness of the tannins that lingered, which I found very enjoyable.

Wine Review: Canaan Winery 柔 rou, Tenderness, Dijon 113 Pinot Noir 2019

Now we come to the famous Dijon clones! Starting off first with Dijon 113, this originates from Burgundy, and was selected and propagated by Dr Raymond Bernard at the University of Dijon, with the help of the highly esteemed Jean-Marie Ponsot of Domaine Ponsot, who had offered budwood from his legendary Clos de la Roche vines in Morey-St Denis. It was eventually disseminated by the Oregon State University and University of California, Davis. Dijon 113 ripens earlier than its fellow Dijon clones (Dijon 114 and 115 came from the same source as well), and was selected for its disease resistance, although featuring high but uneven yields. It's considered the most elegant of the Dijon clones with great aromatic complexity, and is typically vibrant with bright red fruits, florals, high acidity, moderate tannins and excellent aging potential.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Ruby

Aroma: More confectionary here, with cherry frosting, cherry pie and poptart filling. There's a mineral quality here with spring water, before getting back at the confectionaries of vanilla frosting, and also featuring a touch of barnyard with some animal fur. It comes off heady and opulent, with a plushness that's quite beguiling.

Taste: Medium bodied and richer here, it's more on cherry preserves, stewed cherry, here more mellow and with less acidity - some acidity is still present, although much softer. It has a roundedness, filled in with more on cherry frosting and rose aromatised talcum.

Finish: Some hits of black pepper, it gets alittle bit more savoury. Cherry skins, cherry preserves, some pulls of dough, before a lingering soft powderiness that comes with rose petals.

My Thoughts

This was overall more rounded and richer, with softer acid that was not nearly as bright. It still delivered the same rosy, red fruited aromatics, although here more straightforward, and yet with a sort of elegant opulence. True to its name, I did find this rather tender and supple, with more coming through by way of its textures and body, as opposed to the aromatics and flavours. It's interesting to see that same powderiness of the tannins here as well.

Wine Review: Canaan Winery 睿 rui, Wisdom, Dijon 114 Pinot Noir 2019

Much like its Dijon 113 sibling, this too (along with Dijon 115) came from Burgundy, specifically the Morey-St Denis vineyards of Domaine Ponsot, which was generously donated and worked on by Dr Raymond Bernard. It too was later disseminated via the Oregon State University and University of California, Davis. This was selected as a viable clone for its reliable yields, good disease resistance and early ripening. It typically features aromatic complexity of red and black fruits, spice, moderate acidity, moderate tannins, good structure, excellent aging potential, and the potential for higher degree of alcohol, which altogether makes it rather versatile.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Garnet

Aroma: More perfumed florals here, roses, potpourri, this showcases more depth to the bouquet, adding to it strawberries, raspberries, and in the form of powder. There's some rustic elements too of animal fur, adding to its evocative and heady aromas, as well as a touch of greenness.

Taste: Medium bodied here, it's nevertheless richer and more rounded, with more on strawberries and raspberries, also abit of cherry, giving a light tartness on a moderate depth. It's also alittle mineral, with also some chocolate in the body.

Finish: Light cherries here, light tartness that carries through to a firm finish. It's again more mineral before fading away to give a more powdery quality that lingers.

My Thoughts

This almost appeared to be a middle ground between the Wadenswil and the Dijon 113. It was really aromatic, and at the same time offered more richness and roundedness with notably much more depth. At the same time it still balanced that richness with a good bit of brightness that made it feel much more complete. The acidity here is quite gentle, and once again that powderiness of the tannins showed up. 

Wine Review: Canaan Winery 劲 jing, Power, Dijon 777 Pinot Noir 2019

Another Dijon clone from Burgundy that was propagated by Dr Raymond Bernard, which was eventually shared with the Oregon State University, and was also disseminated by the University of California, Davis. It was selected for good disease resistance, its thick skin and early ripening, although it does produce low yields. It's typically observed to demonstrate a complex perfume with dense black fruits, violets, exotic spices, leather, tobacco, earth, with also highly structured tannins, a plush mouthfeel, balanced acidity, richness, depth, an age-worthiness.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Ruby

Aroma: Notably more earthy here, with more of that rustic, barnyard quality, with also freshly tilled soil, dried tobacco leaves, and also a distinct greenness of bell pepper. Towards the back, some gentle yet supple red fruit notes of strawberry and cherries resides.

Taste: Richer and more rounded here, it's medium-bodied, filled in with a mix of cherries, raspberries and strawberry jams and preserves. The aromatics are less prominent here, and also not as bright, yet the body is more plush and sensual, with more of a silky texture coloured with floral rose petals. 

Finish: Light tartness here, more of those strawberry and cherry jams. It seamlessly leads into a firm finish with a good richness and plushness. Some strawberry jams linger, with just a touch of that powdery tannins.

My Thoughts

I found the aromas on the nose here to be distinctly different from the rest, with much more earthiness and barnyard, which I personally found rustic and pure, and so enjoyed very much. This also had the richest and more plush body of the lot, with this seamless satin-like silkiness. The aromatics on the body was admittedly much more muted, yet it remained fruit forward into the really satisfyingly firm and resolute finish.

Wine Review: Canaan Winery 敛 lian, Restraint, Swan Pinot Noir 2019

Now we move beyond the Dijon clones to yet another incredibly notable Pinot clone, this is the Swan clone that was brought from Burgundy, France, to California, US, by the Swan family, and which was then donated to the University of California, Davis. The Swan clone ripens later than the Dijon clones, and features thicker skins as well, with a lighter colour. It is distinctively perfumed, with bright acidity, an elegant structure, with a flavour profile that features red fruits and has a medium body. It's liked for its finesse and also has a more pale colour. 

Tasting Notes

Colour: Ruby

Aroma: Really rich and aromatic here, with raspberries and cherry frosting, still alittle bit of that green bell pepper, as well as a slightly rustic, earthy side of animal fur and tobacco. It expresses a good depth, with a sort of more muscular structure. 

Taste: Medium bodied here with moderate richness. It's more mineral driven with a light acidity, and yet retains this mellow roundedness. It's much more linear, with dark cherries and cherry preserves. 

Finish: The dark cherries persists, as does the light acidity. Alittle bit more earthiness of soil and tobacco leaves.

My Thoughts

This expressed a great richness and aromatic intensity on the nose, balanced against this side of rustic earthiness that I really enjoyed. On the nose, it definitely had a good depth and felt more muscular, and perhaps even alittle riper. On the palate, the body still kept that roundedness and broadness, yet felt more linear and narrow in terms of its flavour profile, with a more constrained complexity. Here it's more firm yet less in the way of aromatics. More depth, power, and more muscular, with a more restrained flavour.

Wine Review: Canaan Winery Shi Bai Pian Mastery Pinot Noir 2019 (特选 te xuan)

For the final Pinot Noir cuvee, the blend goes as follows: 25% Dijon 114, 25% Dijon 777, 25% Swan, with the remaining 25% a combination of Wadenswil, Dijon 113 and Pommard. This is what we've been working towards through the very informative and educational clonal tastings! Here it all comes together. At this point winemaker Desheng emphasises that the goal, and the target with the blend, is to achieve a distinct terroir driven profile that is neither New World nor Old World, but really one of China's Huailai region.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Light Garnet

Aroma: It opens with a lighter and brighter layer of those red fruits, of cherries and raspberries, quickly adding in alittle bit of greenness of green bell peppers, before a more savoury side begins to surface and build. The savouriness is of charcuterie oils, with also more umaminess of dashi and bouillon cubes. There's a dollop of herbed butter that comes forth as well. 

Taste: Medium bodied here with a good richness to it. Here there's a more brambly quality of red and black fruits of blackberries and dark cherries. It has some depth and concentration to it yet holds back from being much riper. In that sense, it comes off rather intentional and showing of restraint. There's a soft chewiness of licorice as well, and a delicate bit of earthiness of soil and tobacco. The lightest touch of acidity.

Finish: A light wash of raspberries and dark cherries carries into the finish with a light acidity. Here some flinty minerality as well, with a good firmness, and again that bit of savouriness. Some eucalyptus, violets and licorice lingers.

My Thoughts

I found this to be a really interesting and distinctive Pinot Noir expression with that umaminess on its aromas that were vividly of bouillon cubes, and also with a side of herbaceousness, that all added to the complexity of the fruits, yet remaining well balanced and harmonious. The body here showed a good moderate concentration, and again felt really intentional and demonstrating of restraint, which was also another goal of the Canaan team. It was fruit-centered, with both black and red fruits, with then also some herbal chewiness and earthiness that followed the fruits. The acidity remained really light and delicate, yet offering an understated freshness. It had a really nice and firm finish where some more minerality came through, and this time with again some herbaceousness that complemented the fruits and florals.

Having gone through the Clonal series, the Pinot Noir Mastery felt clearly exactly as it is composed. It seems obvious that Canaan did not want to lean into those heavily perfumed or confectionary tones, and instead really wanted to make sure that the body was set to be fuller and had more concentration, and so you could see how the Mastery conveyed clearly their opting for more aromatically balanced and moderate, yet at the same time more earthy, herbal and rounder bodied clones.