I recently had the pleasure to receive a bottle as a gift of Pinot Noir that was grown and produced in the Netherlands. Apparently they have a region in the southern part Holland where historically they have been growing grapes for centuries. Typically known as a very flat and also a majority of this country is under the sea level line making it a bit difficult to grow grapes. Well to find out that there is this area in the southern part of Holland called South Limburs you will find not only a very hilly area but this is the only part of the country that is above sea level at a total of 322 meters, the same as us here in Barolo and Barbaresco (there are some parts here that are higher but the medium is around 300 meters). The soil structure of this area they call Marl which is a blend of Loess (a loamy deposit formed by the winds,characteristics are yellow in color and very calcareous), and Limestone. Believing this soil structure is coming from the Pleistocene period being formed from glaciers rubbing together.
I was invited to a dinner party with a bunch of people who really know their stuff about wine, and well I thought then it would be a good time to pull out this surprise for the blind tasting. And I must say it was a surprise. First off they got that it was Pinot Noir, but for a Pinot we were having trouble telling if it was one that came from Oregon or as they had suspected Alto Adige. There defiantly was a fruitiness that we suspected was not typical of France or Germany.
At the end in my conclusion if you are ever in this area I recommend stoping by Domein De Wijngaardsberg to have a taste. They also work with Chardonnay and Pinot Gris. Very good and interesting wines.
www.dewijngaardsberg.nl
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