Confit, roasted, or à l’orange — four bottles that all work
Duck is the dish that makes people reach for Pinot Noir, and for once the cliché is correct. Duck is fattier than chicken and more savoury than beef, with a gamey edge that overpowers delicate whites and gets buried under big tannin. What it wants is acidity to cut the fat and red fruit to meet the meat's sweetness — which is Pinot Noir's exact description. The preparation still matters: confit is saltier and richer than a roast breast, and anything with orange or cherry pushes the pairing sweeter.
Pinot Noir • $55
Flowers Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir is our pick for duck confit specifically. It is light on its feet with bright, mouthwatering acidity, and against something as rich and salted as confit that acidity is the entire job. Wild strawberry, rose petal and a cool maritime salinity keep it perfumed rather than heavy — the wine stays out of the way of the duck and resets the palate between bites.
Pinot Noir • $62
Goldeneye Anderson Valley Pinot Noir handles a plain roast duck better than anything else at its price. The savoury umami undertone in the nose lines up with roasted skin, and the structured tannins — firmer than most Pinot Noir — give it the backbone for a bird that has spent an hour in the oven. It is also our pick for coq au vin, which tells you how it behaves with slow cooking.
Pinot Noir • $85
Domaine Serene Evenstad Reserve leads with forest floor and dried rose petals before the raspberry arrives, and that order matters with duck: the savoury notes meet the meat first. Silky and mid-weight with bright but not searing acidity, it is the Oregon answer to Burgundy at a third of Burgundy's price, and it is our note for roasted duck breast.
Pinot Noir • $265
Faiveley Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru 2022 is the bottle for duck à l’orange, where the sauce brings sweetness and acidity of its own. Ripe red fruits and black cherry lifted by spice and floral nuance can stand up to citrus without turning tart, and tannins polished to near-invisibility mean nothing gets in the way. At $265 it is an occasion; with the right duck it is a memorable one.
For most duck dinners the Flowers at $55 or the Goldeneye at $62 will do everything you need, and the choice between them is really confit versus roast. Step up to the Domaine Serene when the duck is the centrepiece rather than the protein. The Faiveley is for à l’orange or for a night that was always going to be about the wine.
Get our top pick — Faiveley Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru 2022 · $265Affiliate Disclosure: We may earn a commission from your purchase at no extra cost to you.
The background on what is in these bottles.