Is Expensive Pinot Actually Worth Paying For?

Six Pinot Noirs. No labels. Three of the great Pinot nations — Australia, New Zealand and Burgundy — thrown in a bag and poured blind. The job every glass: pick the country, guess the price, and say how many bottles you'd actually hand over money for. Price Is Right rules apply, so go a dollar over and you're out (yes, someone writes $59.99 and still finds a way to lose).

The big question on the table: are there real bargains hiding in the new world, or does the old world still reign supreme? Pinot is supposed to be the grape that wears its postcode on its sleeve, but when six bottles all run a similar through-line, the usual tells start failing. Reduction, brett, whole bunch, lignified stems, tertiary spice — every shortcut gets argued over, and climate change and clever winemaking have blurred the rulebook so badly that a couple of guesses go sideways in spectacular fashion. One of these bottles we've met before under very unfortunate circumstances, and it gets a proper second chance here.

There's also a proper split over green stems, a wine that might have been left in the cellar a beat too long, and the question nobody wants to answer honestly: does spending more on Pinot actually get you more in the glass?

Pour something, cover the label, and guess along before we do. Subscribe so you're ready for the next lineup.