Lyme Bay Winery – Pinot Noir 2024 Review

TLDR

This is a Pinot Noir from Lyme Bay Winery in Devon, with incredible potential. At the moment, it displays its youth with a distinct tartness when first opened. However, given time to breathe, this wine develops juicy red fruits, earthy minerality, and a touch of truffle oil. Given a few years to age, I’d imagine this wine will develop further, easing that tart introduction and leaving a stunning English take on the classic red Burgundy.

Appearance

I was amazed by this wine from the moment it entered the glass. A truly beautiful red garnet color with a lightness on the rim. As I held it up to the light, it acted almost like a stained-glass window, bathing my wrist in the most attractive red projection.

Aroma

The first impression on the nose begins with a mix of red fruits and some strong earthy notes. Due to this wine’s youth, a little bit of patience is required to allow the more subtle aromas to develop in the glass. When first poured, there was also a vegetal top note, but that quickly eased into something more akin to a blackberry bramble-filled hedgerow.

• Redcurrant

• Raspberry

• Strawberry Jam

• Blackberry

• Balsamic glaze

• Truffle

When describing the characteristics of wine, I like to think of memories that they remind me of. This Pinot Noir, in particular, makes me think of an early autumn walk in the forest after rain, forest fruits, wet leaves, and mushrooms.

Palate

To sound a bit like a broken record, my impression of this wine is taken with an understanding of its youth. Overall, we have a berry-forward palate with strong acidity, an earthy base with mushrooms and balsamic, and a long-lasting, rich finish.

• Cherry

• Raspberry

• Redcurrant

• Baking Spices

• Truffle infused olive oil

• Mushroom.

I am very impressed with this wine’s flavour profile, a rich and complex red wine with decent intensity, is after all a surprise in England.

Food Pairing

This is not a Burgundy, so the classic food pairing suggestions for Burgundian Pinot Noir won’t work in the same way. But there are a few things we can say for certain.

• Its current higher levels of acidity make it a great choice for cutting through fatty, creamy foods.

  • Brie and Camembert cheeses are a fantastic option.

  • Any fatty or oily fish will work well.

  • Cheesy and creamy pasta can pair nicely.

• Its bright red fruits can work well with white meat. Consider how roast chicken works with cranberry sauce, or pork with a raspberry balsamic jus. We can do the same kind of work here by pairing pork steaks or roast chicken with the red fruits in this Pinot Noir.

Wine Smeller thoughts

You can read my post on how England’s unique climate has impacted our ability to make decent Chardonnay, and how global warming has been changing this. In many ways, the story is the same for rich Pinot Noir. If you’d have asked me to describe the average English Pinot Noir just a few years ago, I’d have said it was light, fruity, with little complexity to speak of.

Now, however, Lyme Bay has once again proved me wrong. The 2024 vintage impresses with great intensity and a rich, earthy flavour normally expected from those closer to the equator. My advice for this Vintage Pinot Noir is to give it some time in the bottle; 2-5 years of cellaring (under the stairs for those of us not lucky enough to have a cellar) will do this wine wonders.

I would also like to thank Lyme Bay, as this bottle was a sample sent to me as thanks for my previous review of their 2022 Chardonnay. All I can say is that I can't wait to see what the long, hot, and dry summer of 2025 has in store for the 2025 vintage next year.

Also I must go visit this wonderful winery.