Light & Elegant Red Wine | Central Otago & Marlborough Pinot – The Fulham Wine Company
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Light & Elegant Red Wine

Mostly Pinot Noir, mostly from New Zealand

Light and elegant red wine, meaning low tannin, bright acidity and reds you can drink through an evening. Central Otago leads - Mount Edward, Ted and Akitu - with Dog Point and Mahi from Marlborough. Domaine Drouhin covers Oregon and Albert Bichot covers Burgundy itself. Lothian and Meerlust bring South African Pinot Noir, and Prunotto's Langhe Nebbiolo is the outlier that behaves like one. Serve these slightly cool. Tracked UK delivery, next-day available.

Buena Vista California Pinot Noir red wine bottle.
Buena Vista California Pinot Noir
£19.00
Albert Bichot Origines Bourgogne Pinot Noir red wine bottle.
Albert Bichot "Origines" Bourgogne Pinot Noir (2023)
£20.00
Mount Edward Pinot Noir red wine bottle.
FW Fave
Mount Edward Pinot Noir, Central Otago (2022)
£30.00
Mahi Pinot Noir red wine bottle.
Mahi Pinot Noir, Marlborough (2023)
£23.50
Ted Pinot Noir red wine bottle.
Ted Pinot Noir, Mount Edward, Central Otago (2022)
£24.50
Dog Point Pinot Noir red wine bottle.
Dog Point Pinot Noir, Marlborough
£30.50
Akitu A2 Pinot Noir red wine bottle.
Akitu A2 Pinot Noir, Central Otago (2020)
£29.50
Prunotto Occhetti Langhe Nebbiolo red wine bottle.
Prunotto 'Occhetti' Langhe Nebbiolo, Piedmont (2023)
£25.50
Domaine Drouhin Dundee Hills Pinot Noir red wine bottle.
Domaine Drouhin Dundee Hills Pinot Noir (2022)
£39.50
Lothian Vineyards Pinot Noir red wine bottle.
Lothian Vineyards Pinot Noir, Elgin Valley
£27.75
Meerlust Pinot Noir red wine bottle.
Sold out
Meerlust Pinot Noir, Stellenbosch (2023)
£26.50
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What makes a red wine light and elegant

Low tannin, moderate alcohol and bright acidity. These are reds you can drink through an evening without them tiring you out, and they carry aroma further than heavier styles do. They also reward being served slightly cool - fifteen minutes in the fridge before pouring lifts them noticeably, which is not true of a big Cabernet. The rest of the red wine range covers the fuller end.

Pinot Noir from Central Otago, Marlborough and beyond

This page is largely Pinot Noir, and most of it comes from New Zealand. Central Otago is the southernmost wine region in the world and gives Pinot with more fruit intensity than its weight suggests - Mount Edward, its second label Ted, and Akitu are all here. Marlborough contributes Dog Point and Mahi. Oregon's Dundee Hills is represented by Domaine Drouhin, a Burgundian family who went there in the 1980s, and Albert Bichot covers Burgundy itself.

South Africa, Piedmont and the wider light red range

The Elgin Valley and Stellenbosch both make Pinot Noir worth knowing, and Lothian Vineyards and Meerlust are the two here - part of the wider South African wine range. The odd one out is Prunotto's Langhe Nebbiolo, which is not Pinot Noir at all but behaves like it: pale in the glass, high in acidity, far lighter than its tannin would suggest. Nebbiolo is the grape behind Barolo, and Langhe is where it appears in its most approachable form.

Serving light reds, and tracked UK delivery

Serve these cooler than you would a full red - around fifteen minutes in the fridge is right, and a warm room flattens them faster than most people expect. They do not need decanting and are made to drink now rather than to keep. If you want something with more weight behind it, smooth and refined reds are the next step up. Tracked UK delivery, next-day available.

The Fulham Wine Co. Take

Light reds ask more of the fruit than heavy ones do, because there is no weight to hide behind. New Zealand has quietly become one of the best places in the world for this, and Central Otago in particular. Every bottle here is one we would happily drink two glasses of rather than one.

FAQs About Light & Elegant Red Wine

Should light red wine be chilled?

Slightly, yes. Fifteen minutes in the fridge before pouring is about right. It sharpens the fruit and stops the alcohol coming forward, which happens quickly in a warm room. Do not take it as far as a white - straight from the fridge is too cold.

Why is Central Otago Pinot Noir different?

It is the world's southernmost wine region, and the combination of a cool climate with very high sunshine hours gives Pinot Noir more fruit intensity than the weight of the wine suggests. It tends to be more openly fruity than Burgundy while staying light in the mouth.

Is a light red a lesser wine?

No. Weight and quality are unrelated - some of the most expensive red wine in the world is light in the glass. What changes is the occasion it suits, not how good it is.

What is Langhe Nebbiolo?

Nebbiolo grown in the Langhe hills of Piedmont, the same grape used for Barolo but under a broader appellation with less required ageing. It is paler and lighter than its tannin suggests, which is why it sits on this page rather than with the bold reds.

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