Understanding Pinot Noir Clonal Diversity
Two ENTAV-INRA clones published in 2013, 1196 and 1197, are described by Krebiehl as “producing structured
wines with complex and distinctive Pinot Noir aromas, olfactory intensity, and tannin suppleness.”
The World of Fine Wine is a beautifully illustrated 200+ page magazine printed quarterly for wine enthusiasts
and collectors and available in both print and digital formats. For subscriptions, visit www.worldoffinewine.com.
One that’s been reiterated many times by viticulturists and winemakers, and an important point of knowing about clones, is that site trumps clone. One and the same clone
in different vineyards will respond differently.” Krebiehl highlights that Pinot is very prone to producing phenotypes of the identical genotype or clone since it is very environment-sensitive. Pinot Noir’s reaction
to its environment may result in a variation in the way it expresses its genes.
The workhorse clones in the 1970s in California and Oregon were the three legacy clones available from UC
Davis: Pommard, Wädenswil and a minor clone mislabeled as Gamay Beaujolais. The eventual importation of
this Dijon clones of Pinot Noir from Burgundy into Oregon was to dramatically alter the course of Pinot Noir
wine growing in the United States. The complete story: www.princeofpinot.com/article/945/, “Romancing the Dijon
Clones.”
While clones alone do not hold the secret to a great wine and
constitute only one element among thousands in wine’s almost infinite matrix of variables, they are a
fascinating link to the past and a continually adapting key to the future.”
A superb article appeared in 2017 in the erudite UK wine journal, The World of Fine Wine. The article’s
relevance to Pinot Noir caught my interest, and since the vast majority of PinotFile readers definitely don’t read
this diary, I wanted to share the pertinent information contained therein with you. Written by Anne Krebiehl
MW, the article was titled, “Pinot Noir: Cracking the Clonal Code.” Anne is a freelance wine writer and lecturer
who contributes to a huge selection of consumer and trade publications in the UK, USA and Germany. Her varied
interests include German, Austrian, Italian and New Zealand wines, but her focus is on Pinot Noir,
Riesling and wines. She was admitted to the Institute of Masters of Wine in
September 2014. Some of the information here is from my own research.
Dick Earth had a friend who gave him smuggled cuttings that lay on the ground at Clos Vougeot in Burgundy in
1975-1976. The cuttings were sent to UC Davis where the material tested positive. After
microshoot tip tissue culture virus elimination, the choice was designated as FPS 95. It tested
positive for leaf roll virus, and was afterwards advanced to FPS 117.
According to Krebiehl, the ENTAV-INRA’s database lists 47 clones of Pinot Noir, including wine varieties. Other collections in Burgundy and Champagne add up to at least 800
clones. Of the Dijon clones commonly planted, 113, 114 and 115 date to 1971, clone 667 to 1980 and clone
777 (along with 115, the hottest Pinot Noir clone in the world) in 1981. “828” followed in 1985 and 943 in
1989. The true Dijon clone 828, available in the UC Davis FPS Foundation Vineyard, a cleaned-up version
(lacking the Red Globe virus) of the first ENTAV-INRA clone, became available in 2012. Older plantings are
known as faux “828”, vertical “828,” or ASW2.
Olmo also developed the Martini clone (UCD 13,15) along with Louis Martini from vine cuttings taken from
Inglenook and then planted at the Stanly Ranch in Carneros. Roederer clones (UCD 32,33,41) were
released in 1984 following importation form Champagne.
There’s absolutely no David Bruce clone per state, as it represents any number of Pinot Noir selections of undetermined
clonal origins. Bruce obtained his cuttings from Wente’s Arroyo Seco vineyard and Martin Ray’s
vineyard at what is now called Mount Eden.
The so-called Calera clone is actually a number of selections reportedly brought from Burgundy’s Domaine de
la Romanée-Conti (DRC) or sourced from Chalone by Josh Jensen who founded Calera Wine Company.
Select, Reed and two-thirds of Jensen were implanted with luggage clones either from DRC or Chalone or both.
Jensen has never disclosed the origins of his plants, but he spent time working in DRC and
Domaine Dujac before he set Calera Wine Company. Now, Calera selections are frequently planted in
Domaine Dujac before he founded Calera Wine Company. Today, Calera selections are planted in
California.
The broadly domestic plantings of this Pommard clone take their origins from Dr. Harold Olmo of UC Davis, who
imported two Pinot Noir clones in the 1940s, one each from France and Spain. Neither clone has
documented provenance based on Krebiehl, but I have read that the French import was sourced from
Chateau de Pommard. This import became UCD 4 and the forms UCD 5 and UCD 6. UCD 5 was
introduced to Oregon by Dick Earth and Charles Court as part of their nursery venture in the early 1970s.
Much of the history and source of mother clones from Europe brought to California is shrouded in mystery. It is
believed that European cuttings of Pinot Noir were brought into California in the 1850s and 1860s, such as
vine cuttings from Burgundy by Agoston Haraszthy. The Mt Eden clone was brought to California from
Burgundy by Paul Masson in the 1890s, supposedly sourced from Corton and Corton Charlemagne. Martin
Ray, who later owned Paul Masson’s vineyard, provided grape scion to Chalone, as well as Dr. Stanley
Hoffman at HMR Vineyard in Paso Robles and Dr. David Bruce in the Santa Cruz Mountains (see note below
about the David Bruce clone). Merry Edwards sent cuttings of a Mt Eden vine to UC Davis where it was
certified as UCD 37.
The origins of this so-called Coury clone of Pinot Noir remains enigmatic. Coury studied viticulture and clonal
adaptation at INRA in Colmar, Alsace, France in 1964 and it is believed by David Adelsheim and many others that
Coury smuggled cuttings from Colmar to the United States upon his return. It is possible that he brought in
clone 538, the clone of Pinot Noir available at Colmar at the moment. Coury never revealed the clonal or
choice type but the “Coury clone” is common parlance one of winegrowers, speaking to plantings Court sold
from his nursery in the 1970s to growers and wineries in Oregon and mistakenly considered a Pommard clone.
Published at Fri, 27 Oct 2017 19:09:07 +0000
The author begins by debunking the often-stated dictum that Pinot Noir is more prone to mutation and less
genetically stable than other Vitis vinifera varieties. John Haeger, in his landmark reference book on Pinot Noir,
North American Pinot Noir, states, “Pinot, by virtue of its genetic instability and its predisposition to
spontaneous mutation…. Several hundred clones of Pinot Noir are
thought to exist.” Haeger’s statement does not implicitly state that Pinot Noir has proclivity for mutation
compared to wine grapes.
Krebiehl’s study indicates that the first clonal choice of Pinot Noir clones in Burgundy began in
1960, when INRA acquired the clonal selections of Pinot Noir from vines planted at Domaine Ponsot at
Morey-St-Denis. This resulted in the certification of Pinot Noir clones numbered 111-115 in 1971. Selection research began earlier in Germany, the home to the official study on Pinot Noir clonal
selection, dating to the 1920s. Official Swiss study on clonal choice of Pinot Noir began in the 1950s,
and in 1952 three clones from Wädenswil were imported to UC Davis (UCD 1A, 2A, 3A).
The Jackson clones (UCD 9, 16) originated from experimental plantings in the town of Jackson in the Sierra
Nevada region of California. The Wente “clone” is likely many selections from early plantings in the Arroyo
Sect region of Monterey County. The Swan clone (UCD 97) is a Pommard selection probably sourced from
Burgundy and planted by Joseph Swan in the early 1970s. But to make the story more confusing, at least one
of those so-called Swan clones (selections) came from Mount Eden.
Source: Wine
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