Pinot Noir: A grape notorious throughout the winemaking world. Many a winemaker has shed hot tears down the sides of French oak full of the stuff, knowing they have been jilted and stood up yet again. For turning this grape into good wine remains the greatest challenge in a winery.

Somehow Pinot is the most feminine of grapes - beautiful, fickle, moody, spiteful, elegant, truculent, sexy, infuriating, absolutely delicious. All apply. Pinot would probably even get jealous if there was another lovely Pinot sitting in a glass nearby.

"Winemakers need the dedication which otherwise might have destined them for a career in nursing,"says British wine doyen Robert Joseph. "Buying it is like Russian Roulette, once you've got a taste for that complex, raspberryish flavour, you'll go on pulling the expensive trigger."

Thus the Princess of Burgundy lives in infamy and well deserves her sobriquet, The Heartbreaker Grape. (Pinot can smell like anything from fresh strawberries to the floor of a barn...and still taste fantastic.)

The best PN undoubtedly comes from Burgundy, which has a long history of taming the shrew. Those wily Frogs must charm the wine into submission! However the New World is catching up.

Pinot grows best where the climate is neither too warm nor too cold, and therefore Margaret River is now producing some very respectable versions.

Each wine is different in its own way, yet features that fragrant, sensually intoxicating Pinot core that becomes hopelessly morish in the besotted devotee. Here's some of the best from Margaret River.

1. Cullen Pinot Noir - Rich and complex, raspberry, smoky, gamey characters with great power.

2. Devil's Lair Pinot Noir - Dark cherry, gamey, mushroomy, charry oak with depth and complexity.

3. Fermoy Estate Pinot Noir - Soft, raspberry, mushroomy, stalky and lingering on the palate.

4. Leeuwin Estate Pinot Noir - Red berry flavours, smoky, oaky, gamey, vibrant with distinct varietal characteistics.

5. Moss Brothers Pinot Noir - Rich, strawberry, cherry and spicy characters and gamey, intense depth of flavour.

6. Moss Wood Pinot Noir - Consentrated, velvety textures with deep red berry, gamey, mushroom flavours

7. Pierro Pinot Noir - Soft strawberry flavours, smoky, gamey, vibrant with good varietal character.

8. Redgate Pinot Noir - Subtle raspberry, strawberry and gamey characters, soft, complex and lingering on the finish.