In this seventh, and last report, I’ll cover both Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) and Weißburgunder (Pinot Blanc).
Spätburgunder
German Pinot Noir—Spätburgunder—is enjoying considerable popularity in Germany and in other parts of Europe. And some proponents of German wines seem to periodically proclaim it as the next big thing in pinot. At least one prominent German importer likes to claim that winemakers in Burgundy confide that of all the Pinot Noir producers in the world, it is the Germans that they are most worried about. Well, from a marketing standpoint, it’s possible that German Spätburgunder sales are cutting into Burgundy sales in Germany, and perhaps other European markets. Based upon purely qualitative considerations, however, I have yet to be convinced. But there are certainly some very fine German pinot noirs, as the notes below will attest.
Most of the Spätburgunders at this tasting were from the 2011 vintage, although there were a few 2010’s and earlier vintages. One positive development, even compared to the 2010’s I tasted last year, is that there seemed to be considerably fewer over-oaked wines than previously. Less oak, and perhaps stronger underlying material, is resulting in more balanced wines where the fruit is allowed to express itself without the smokey/oaky overlay that marred many Spätburgunders previously (although there are still plenty of offenders). The best wines are very pretty, light to medium-bodied, fragrant and silky wines with good fruit and crisp acids. What they usually lack is real depth or complexity, at least in their youth. And of course their track record for development with aging is yet to be established in the market with enough examples. Given that the (relatively few) wines that are imported into the U.S. are often priced like Premier Cru’s from the Cote de Nuits (i.e., well north of $100), I think these wines have relatively limited market appeal at this point. Of course, there are a few non-VDP producers that are also making quality Spätburgunders that are getting favorable reviews and are available (although hard to find) at more moderate prices.
There are Spätburgunders made in most of the major wine regions in Germany, and I was able to taste all of them except for the two flights from Württemberg. I’ll hit the highlights from each region in order:
Ahr: The three flights of wines from the Ahr began with two examples of Frühbuguner, aka “Early Burgundy”, and early ripening clone of pinot noir. Frankly, neither of these wines was of interest, even the Kernau Pfarrwingert from esteemed producer Meyer-Näkel; light, short, with a smokey/toasted character, some pretty floral notes but rather sharp. A Frühburgunder from Kreuzberg was poor. For true Spätburgunder, the top producer in the Ahr is Meyer-Näkel, whose three wines were all very good, but not exceptional. Best was the Dernau Pfarrwingert, with much more depth of fruit and body than the Frühburgunder from this site; nice black cherry notes, medium body, fairly tannic but with enough balancing depth of fruit and good length. Also good was the Walporzheim Kräuterberg which was fairly dark in color, good deep fruit that was well-rounded and seamless from start to finish, all red fruits and a supple texture. The Nruehahr Sonnenberg was similar, a bit lighter bodied perhaps with just enough extract to support the tannins, good fruit intensity with a slight leafy/floral note. Jean Stodden is highly regarded in the Ahr, and I liked the Rech Herrenberg from this estate, in a much lighter style but quite pretty, elegant with a nice fragrance of tart red cherries and flowers, nice if not much depth. Stodden’s Ahrweiler Rosenthal showed a bit of oak, quite high-toned fruit with both cherries and a tomato note, but not much body, very light and simple. But certainly better than the Neuehahr Sonnenberg which was sharp, bitter, underripe and stalky. The wines shown by the other producers from the Ahr—J.J. Adeneuer, Kreuzberg, and Deutzerhof - Cossmann-Hehle—were all too light, unbalanced, or underripe to be considered of GG quality.
Rheingau: Only one flight of Rheingau Späts, and frankly it was a pretty uninspiring group. Best was probably the Rüdesheim Berg Schlossberg from August Kesseler, with decent balance and depth of fruit, but I would still consider this no better than “pretty good.” Kesselers Aßmannshausen Höllberg was more tannic than the light fruit could support, just too light for its structure. Both wines from Künstler, both from Hochheim, were disappointing with Stein quite sharp, hard, tannic and tart, while the Reichestal had a bit more extract, but was still rather thin with a slightly sour fruit character. Pretty much the same for the Aßmannshausen Höllberg from Allendorf. Finally, a wine from Stiftung was flat-out poor. Based on this showing, it’s hard to see why they bother growing pinot in the Rheingau.
Rheinhessen: Only one flight here, and only one producer making wines worth considering, although they are far from excellent. Gutzler made two wines from Westhofen (both wines shown were 2010’s), from Brunnenhäuschen and Morstein, with decent fruit and good balance, moderate intensity and depth, decent certainly but not really good enough to be a GG, in my opinion. Wines from Neus and Schloss Westerhaus were both poor: sharp, sour and over-oaked. It should be noted that other VDP producers, including superstar producer Keller, make Spätburgunders in the Rheinhessen, but for some reason chose not to show them in Weisbaden. So perhaps the region was not fairly represented in this instance.
Pfalz: This region is considered one of the best, if not THE best region in Germany for growing pinot noir, and there are a number of highly regarded producers of Spätburgunder here. Perhaps the grower in the Pfalz with the best reputation for the variety is Knipser, and his wines did not disappoint. Three wines, all very good, and all 2010’s. Laumersheim Kirschgarten had real depth, fairly rich fruit, complex flavors showing some oak (but not too much), earth/mushroom and red fruits, smooth tannins. A well-balanced wine with some complexity. The Dirnstein Mandelpfad was also complex with high-toned fruit but also good depth with the structure in balance, a hint of toast was subtle, not dominant, with smooth tannins, all suggesting this wine should age well. Großkarlbach Burweg is very similar, perhaps a bit less rich, but otherwise very much like the Mandelpfad. All of these wines were very good and showing potential for development. Also good wines came from Becker in the extreme south of the Pfalz. Some of Becker’s vineyards in Schweigen are so far south they actually extend into French territory. Kammerberg is medium bodied, ripe with some smoke/vanilla flavors, but decent fruit, although the finish shows some wood tannin bitterness. Sankt Paul has more fruit, not as marked by oak, very good depth and excellent balance, good classic style with complexity, depth and length. Also from Schweigen was a Sonnenberg “Redling” from Bernhart, with good depth of fruit, tightly structured and with ample but smooth tannins, the fruit here is quite ripe tasting, both red and black, but the structure is firm. Rebholz showed a 2008 Im Sonnenschein that had fairly complex fruit, bright/high-toned but with enough depth and balance to avoid any sense of tartness; a bit of toast is subtle, bright cherry fruit and smooth tannins suggesting this wine will mature further.
Good Pfalz wines came from Philipp Kuhn, with adequate fruit and good balance, mostly cherry but with a hint of tomato leaf but overall pretty good. Meßmer’s Burrweiler Schlossgarten was quite ripe, with almost confected fruit with black raspberry flavors and a bit of vanilla; rather soft but adequate acidity, this seemed more New World in style than most other wines here. Also on the ripe side was Ilbesheim Kalmit from Kranz. Poor wines from A. Christmann (overripe and stewed) and Münzberg-Lothar Keßler & Söhne (thin and tannic).
Franken: Only one flight here from three producers. This region is dominated by an estate widely regarded as making the best Spätburgunder in Germany, Rudolf Fürst. His three wines, from a part of the Franken considerably west of the main riesling and silvaner growing vineyards around Würzburg, were all excellent. Klingenerg Schloßberg was very elegant, perfect fruit/acid balance, smooth tannins, a bit light but with enough extract to provide depth; the flavors are more complex than most, with well-integrated oak adding interest without dominating, good length. Last year this was my favorite of the Fürst pinots, but this year I preferred both of the wines from Bürgstadt. Centgrafenberg has a bit more body and extract, a little riper but still bright with mostly red fruits that show considerable depth and length, good structure if a bit softer than Schloßberg. A bit better because of its slightly firmer structure was Hundsrück, quite deep but not super-ripe tasting, smooth tannins and seeming very tight right now, the depth suggests a lot of potential here. Schmitt’s Kinder’s Randersacker Sonnenstuhl was a nice, mid=-weight wine with fairly ripe fruit, low tannins and a more fruit-forward style. A Schlossberg from Stadt Klingenberg was a bit coarse and underripe.
Baden: Another region that is considered the future of pinot noir in Germany, the top producer appears to be Huber, whose three wines were all excellent. Malterdingen Bienenberg has good fruit character, ripe but with good balance and firm acidity, a nice depth of fruit with moderate tannins, seamless., A bit better was Hecklingen Schlossberg, with even more richness, similar balance to the previous wine, deeply fruited but not overripe or stewed in any way, fresh raspberry fruit prevails. A bit new world in terms of fruit but classic old world structure and weight. Also on the riper side is Bornbach Sommerhalde, again more new world in terms of fruit but tightly structured with firm tannins and good bright acidity; this should develop well. Just a half-step below Huber is Dr. Heger, and this estate’s two wines were both very good. Both were quite similar to each other: Achkarren Schlossberg showed excellent balance with medium body and a seamless character, gently framed by oak that’s in perfect balance, good length; Ihringen Winklererg “Häusleboden” is similar, hard to really choose between the two. A good if clearly less successful Baden wine came from Bercher; his Burkheim Feuerberg showed a bit too much smokey oak and tannins which dominated the fruit that is medium ripe, but the wine still was rather pleasant and supple. Other wines that were no better than decent, or worse, came from Seeger, Franckenstein, Stadt Lahr-Wührle, and Stigler.
Weißburgunder
I wanted to make sure to taste at least a few flight of the Weißburgunders (Pinot Blanc), as last year these had been a real revelation for me. Having never really tasted many German Pinot Blanc before, and none at the GG level, I found last year’s Weißburgunders absolutely delicious and distinctly different from anything I had tasted from Germany before. This year there were 6 flights of Weißburgunders shown from 6 different regions. I was able to taste 3 flights from 2 regions, Pfalz and Baden.
Pfalz: The top Pfalz producer of Weißburgunders, without question, is Rebholz, who showed two wines. Best was Siebeldingen Im Sonnenschein, with great crisp fruit, very round but with real cut and precision, peach and apple fruit with really good length and great depth; a terrific wine. Almost as good was Birkweiler Mandelberg, a little riper and deeper, but not quite as precise, but still very well structured and seamless. From the same vineyard Dr. Wehrheim was similar if just a little less focused than the Rebholz version. Meßmer showed two wines, the best being Burrweiler “Im goldenen Jost” Schlossgarten with good minerality crisp and taut, elegant style but with good fruit, not all structure. His Böchingen Rosenkranz was a bit softer and more diffuse, but still with good fruit and easy to drink. Both Knipser and Philipp Kuhn had good wines from laubersheim Kirschgarten, with Knipser’s showing a bit softer and creamy, with nice peachy fruit, while Kuhn’s was richer, riper with apple and plum along with the peach flavors. Also good was Bergdolt-St. Lamprecht’s Kirrweiler Mandelberg, nicely rich and round, fruity but with good depth and length. Less interesting wines came from Kranz (diffuse and almost sweet) and Bernhart (good fruit, easy but very tasty).
Baden: I tasted just one of the two flights offered, and again my favorite wine came from Andreas Laible. Nice bright fruit with good acid and some minerality, good precision and real complexity here. Schlör’s Reicholzheim First had some herbal notes with the fruit and dusty minerality a restrained style that was good if not great. A good typical Weißburgunder came from Heitlinger with his Tiefenbach Kapelle showing good fruit and balance. Good standard/decent quality wines from Seeger (a bit too much oak/vanilla), Burg Ravensburg (good fruit but deficient in acidity) and Frankenstein (no better than decent).
This concludes my Report from Weisbaden. I did not have sufficient time to taste any of the Grauburgunders (Pinot Gris) or Lembergers (Blaufranksch).
If you’ve managed to stick with me and slog through all seven of these reports, congratulations . . . and Thank You! ![[thankyou.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/d/df165fe9c1593d19166ae7e1ffe5e272089cc07b.gif "thankyou"){kind=small}