I’m excited to hear about all the experiences, and Julian’s endeavours in his foray into spätburgunder!
Regarding the Ahr, it may well be that it is an extremely old spätburgunder region that is it’s Achilles heel; old clones selected through the ages to perform in the traditional cold German climate but lacking in good Pinot Noir depth of character. To differentiate between the two, I refer to “old style German” (old clones) as spätburgunder and Bourgogne-like as Pinot Noir (new clones). I know that’s a very rough generalisation, but that’s what goes on in my head.
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Robert, can you give some background on how and when you organize these type of events?
Hi Luke - Thank you for your interest. I have done 19 Rieslingstudy events and 2 Spatburgunderstudies and 1 Silvanerafter-party! These are all self funded, not for profit events. I pay for the music and bring lots of wine from my cellar. The cost of the ticket goes 100% to the restaurant.
So far I have had events in Chicago, Detroit, McMinnville, Mosel, Memphis, NYC, Philadelphia and Portland.
My goal is to have a less pretentious environment to discuss, share and taste wine with great music and food. AND of course to promote German wine which is the country I am most passionate about.
As far as when, honestly its whenever I have the time as I have a pretty intense schedule. I usually promote them on instagram which is typically enough to sell them out quickly.
Noble Rot did an article on the events and Trink wrote about them.
I would say about 30% of the attendees are relatively new to wine, many come in through the music angle.
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Spätburgunder study was a huge success. My head is still spinning from tasting over 60 wines while also being the master of ceremonies and DJing. Some high level thoughts.
Spätburgunder is improving by leaps and bounds in Germany. I tasted many great wines and only one or two duds.
It was heartening to see so many winemakers come out including Mosel legend Markus Molitor, Stefan Steinmetz, Sven Enderle, Julian Ludes, Axel Pauly,Thorsten Melsheimer, Peter Leipold, Daniel Fries, Phillip Wöhrag and Tobias Feiden. And many winemakers who could not attend because they are on holiday sent wines including Julian Haart, Gernot Kollman and Max Kilburg.
German pinot can age! We tasted a 90 Molitor Graacher Himmelreich that was fresh as a daisy, admittedly brought direct from the Domain. And Stefan Steinmetz brought several from the 2000s including a 2003 Auslese Trocken ** and a 2007 Ausless Trocken were stunning. A 2007 Meyer-Nekal was also great. A 2010 Keller Bürgel was also one of the wines of the night.
The future is so bright! Wines by younger winemakers like Max Kilburg, Peter Leipold, Martin Müllen (I believe the son is responsible for the reds), Jonas Dostert, Philip Lardot and his partner Rosa were all great and stylistically closer to the future than the past.
Still the king - We had one Mobitz, a 2016 Kanzel and it was stunning. This wine along with the early Enderle and Molls were what sparked my interest in German Pinot.
The Mosel for Pinot - Tasting wines from Julian Haart, Max Kilburg, Martin Müllen and Daniel Twardowski have firmly convinced me that the Mosel will produce some of the greatest Pinot Noir in the world!
Die Mosel! I love this place. They are the nicest, kindest, most passionate people. The team did an outstanding job with the food and procurring as many wines as possible.
Community - The winemakers and other locals are commented on how great this event was and that they should do more of them to discuss and tasted their wines to benefit from the groups learning.
The Mosel - There is a very special renaissance happening in the Mosel. I cannot recommend a visit more. Once you see these stunning vineyards and this area you will fall deeply in love with the wines. We have seen quite a change over the last few years with many younger winemakers coming from other areas as well as somms and restauranteurs. There is something extremely moving here!
I have notes on over 40 wines that I hope to get to soon…
Board Member @SOvery was in attendance, I hope he will add some non-biased impressions 
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Congratulations on hosting your Spätburgunder event at Die Mosel! I love that place, too.
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It was a great night at the Spatburgunder Study. Everyone was so friendly. My German is so bad that I’m always a bit nervous being around native speakers – fortunately our table companions were happy to chat in English!
My first observation would be that every bottle that I tasted was good. Nothing was over the top, over extracted, or horrifically over oaked. Having said that, there was enough variation in style, between the fruit forward and the more minerally, or with different types and lengths of maturation that it was still as interesting to taste the fortieth spatburguder as it was the first five.
Standout wines were the Keller and Mobitz which had freshness and precision. Lots of other interesting wines though. Some notable examples were the older Steinmetz and Molitor bottles, and Immich Batterieberg 2013 from magnum.
I was thinking a lot about William’s comment upthread regarding the clones used in different vineyards. I thought the wines made by the list of younger winemakers Robert mentioned above tended to have a stronger red fruit element – particularly Dostert, Haart, and Müllen (there the son, Jonas, is going to be a brilliant winemaker). I wonder if this is down to a newer style, or newer, more Burgundian clones being planted, or both?
The food Die Mosel provided was great – three very different groups of flavours over the three courses, but all proved to be complimentary to the wines. New year resolution #1: more spatburgunder with food this year.
Resolution #2 is to follow up on some tips passed on by Johannes of Weingut Haupts in Ediger-Eller about the growers in that part of the Terassen-Mosel. It is a part of the valley I am not so familiar with, so that should be a good project.
Many thanks to @Robert_Dentice for organising the event, it was superb.
Edit - It was also very cool to see people like the magnum of 2001 Meyer-Näkel ‘S’ I took along.
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Thank you for the great write up and kind words.
I agree the diversity of styles was fascinating and I too was not bored tasting that many wines. I would like to get more into the nitty gritty with the winemakers about stem inclusion and other cellar and vineyard practices. One winemaker said they need to do more larger tastings like this to discuss the various approaches amongst them.
Thanks for the tip on Ediger-Eller.
And yes that 01 Meyer-Näkel was pretty stunning…thank you!
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Another great event Robert, looking forward to the notes. I would love to attend an event like this in NYC. Any ideas???
First round of tasting notes…
2020 Dr. Hermann Kinheimer Rosenberg Reserve
This is a new wine for me. Comes in a fancy, slightly heavy bottle with a wax cap. Deep ruby color. Soaring aromatics that are lovely for a young wine. A faint hint of oak but not at all overdone. Soft tannnins. Very polished but in a good way. Delicious fruit. I could see this aging very well. Definitely one to seek out. 12.5 abv. A few tasters I trust also raved about this wine. This was a great start to Spätburgunderstudy!
Hard to find much detailed information on this wine. In addition to the Rosenberg Dr. Hermman is also making a Pinot from Zeltinger Himmelreich and the Pinot program seems fairly new. I did read they pick Pinot early, before Kabinett.
Dr. Hermann, with more than 13.6 hectares of vineyards, is managed by Christian Hermann. Winegrowing has been a tradition in the Hermann family for several hundred years. The estate was created in 1967 when the renowned estate Joh. Jos. Christoffel Erben in Ürzig was divided. In the following years, the vineyards were expanded
2015 Spater-Veit Reserve
This winery is known for in my words slightly rustic wines and holding back library wines. Very light, slightly brown color with some bricking around the edges. Looks older than it is. A very vegetal and green nose that would definitely be off-putting to some, I don’t mind it and almost like it. The nose suggests it might be slightly underripe but the palate does not. It is extremely savory and delicious. I really like this but I don’t think it is for everyone. 12.5 abv. I buy these annually throught Fass Selections and will continue.
2021 Hofgut Falkentstein Niedermenniger Herrenberg Rotwein AP10
I have overlooked this wine up until this year. It can often times come off overly simple which I have come to learn with a little air is not the case and the silky smoothness of the wine is part of its charm. This has an enticing slightly earthy nose. There is a perfume quality more in the palate than in the nose which is fascinating. With some air this becomes much more complex and adds some weight. After a stunning bottle earlier this I added more to the cellar and I am glad that I did.
At this point I am only three wines in and I can see the diversity of Spätburgunder as all three are radically different wines.
Next up are two 2023 barrel samples provided by Phil Lardot and his partner Rosa. Phil’s Kontakt is one of my favorite wines from 2023. I love to serve it on the cool side, it is juicy, zippy and a joy to drink. both of these wines are made in a similar style. I would also add these two wines are again in a much different style than the previous three.
2023 Rosa Bullay (this is Rosa’s new project and I don’t even know what they are going to call it). Medium dary ruby color. Extremely pure and elegant fruit. Silky comes to mind. No tannins at all which is fine as the smoothness is what the is all about. Already drinking extremely well. Guessing this around 11.5% abv
2023 Phil Lardot Wintricher Grosses Hergott
Medium dark ruby color. Lots of energetic acidity partly because of the style and its also because of its youth. Delicious cranberry fruit on the palate. SO easy to drink similar to the 2023 Kontakt. Also guesses this is around 11.5 abv. I really love it.
First time having the Rinke wines. Overall I really liked them. I don’t think I have seen this in the U.S
From the Rinke website:
Langsurer Brüderberg Pinot Noir “S” Vom Muschelkalk - Upper Moselle
Our flagship Pinot Noir. A Burgundy miracle in red. Burgundian Pinot Noir clones with the lowest yield, not destemmed and vinified in the traditional Burgundian style, maturing in barriques for at least 20 months. Bottled unfiltered and with little sulfur.
In 2006, the career changers, Marion and Alexander Rinke, took over vineyards in a location in the Langsurer Brüderberg that almost no one knew about at the time. “Im Galgenberg” is the name of the steep, partly terraced area of 2.5 hectares between Igel and Wasserbillig (just before Luxembourg). A fallow gem on shell limestone, with great potential. The duo revived this gem, which was previously planted with Elbling, cleared it completely and replanted it with Chardonnay, predominantly old Burgundian genetics, and a few additional vines (including Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Muscat, Gewürztraminer).
2018 Rinke Langsurer Brüderberg Pinot Noir S Vom Muschekalk
Dark ruby color. Definitely on the riper side due to the vintage but not overripe. This had a graphite and mineral streak to it. Polished tannins. Overall a really nice, complete wine that captured my attention.
2019 Rinke Langsurer Brüderberg Pinot Noir S Vom Muschekalk
Similar minerality to the 2018. This is also a very well rounded, complete wine that I enjoyed. I love the minerality in these wines. Potentially due to the shell limestone in the vineyard?
2021 Julian Haart Pinot Noir
Graciously sent ahead by Julian. I have to say my expecations were sky high. Initially this was closed hard. Over about an hour it blossomed into a seductive, beautifully pure and complex Pinot. I hate to say this as I despise this crutch BUT this was the first wine that made me think of Burgundy. I do feel like wines like this will redifine Pinot in the Mosel…
More to come…
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Später-Veit, which has been producing red wine since the early nineties, has parcels of Pinot Noir in Piesport and Wintrich. Heinz Welter was way ahead of the curve, especially in this stretch of the Middle Mosel.
Erich Weber of Hogut Falkenstein was another early advocate of Spätburgunder in the greater Mosel region. His middle son, Johannes, will continue the tradition. They recently replanted a parcel with Pinot Noir at the foot of the Herrenberg hillside in Niedermennig.
The recultivation of Langsurer Brüderberg was the brainchild of Gernot Kollmann. He proposed this project to the Rinkes in the mid-aughts. This was before he became the winemaker and manager at Immich-Batterieberg. I helped him clear the terraces in Langsur back then. He continued to manage and make the wines for Rinke. I don’t know if this is the case now.
I noticed that Julian Haart’s 2021 Pinot Noir has a white label and red wax capsule. If I remember correctly, it was just one barrique from a new planting with Burgundian clones in Wintrich.
Although Andreas Adam felt it was a little too oaky early on, I liked A.J. Adam’s first red wine, which actually has been released in a heavy-looking bottle. It’s a 2020 Spätburgunder from Dhroner Hofberg. The vines are 10 years old. The alcohol is 12.5 percent. It is aged in barrique.
A long time ago, I accompanied Carl von Schubert and winemaker Stefan Kraml to see Ulli Stein, who was one of the pioneers in bringing back Spätburgunder to the Mosel. Maximin Grünhaus was serious about Spätburgunder and replanted a part of Abtsberg with this grape variety in 2007. The early wines were promising but a little oaked. I haven’t tasted recent vintages, though.
Another early backer of Spätburgunder was Bert Simon in Serrig. His estate was later purchased and renamed Dr. Siemens. When the estate came up for sale, once again, the new investors renamed it Würtzberg, where the first Spätburgunder vines were planted in 1986.
In Germany, a lot of top Pinot Noir producers are emulating red Burgundy. That’s why you see in their cellars French oak barrels, many of which were purchased secondhand in Burgundy.
On a side note, the term “barrique,” which is technically a 225-liter Bordeaux barrel, is also used to describe a 228-liter Burgundian pièce.
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Thanks for all of the additional information @Lars_Carlberg
I remember you telling me many years ago that Carl von Schubert consulted with Ulli, I remember having zero interest in drinking Pinot from the Mosel back then. I think it was around 2014? My have times changed!
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I will definitely be doing some events like this in early 2024 in NYC. I typically announce them on my instagram, here in the offline section and occasionally through the source | material list.
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My pleasure, Robert. It was in 2010. I just found an old email. Piet Stein and I loaded 18 pallets (870 cases) of wine in a reefer bound for NYC via Rotterdam. When we finished, Ulli Stein came by and said that Carl von Schubert and Stefan Kraml were coming to learn more about Pinot Noir. After we tasted some Riesling, I wanted to excuse myself and take the train back to Trier, but Carl kindly offered me a ride back and asked me to join them for their tour of the cellar and vineyards. Ulli also wanted me to stay.
Over ten years ago, I offered Henrik Möbitz in NYC, but to no avail. The two leading shops for German wine declined to buy any of his Pinot Noir, including Kanzel. As you know, Mosel Wine Merchant imported not only Spätburgunder from Stein, Günther Steinmetz, and Später-Veit but also Enderle & Moll. It’s easily forgotten.
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I have not forgotten! I opened an 07 Enderle & Moll for my Birthday this past year (2023).
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In 2013, I drank a very good 2010 Pinot Noir from Molitor-Rosenkreuz, an estate in Minheim. The owner, Achim Molitor, who is a brother of Markus, also had Riesling, including a sparkling wine from Wintricher Ohligsberg.
Selbach-Oster and Max Ferd. Richter have recently begun to produce Pinot Noir.
Schloss Lieser made small amounts of Pinot Noir in the past. I wonder if the estate still does.
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C. von Nell-Breuning makes Pinot Noir from the prime south-facing Kaseler Nies’chen. The back label reads “Pinot Noir matured in barriques,” which is a case in point.
Good morning Lars,
Which clone(s) did Eric choose to plant? Did he have a particular reason for choosing just that clone?
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Good morning, William. You’re up early. I’d have to ask Erich and Johannes when I’m back from vacation. I know it’s not Mariafeld or a clone from Burgundy. It’s most likely clones from either Geisenheim or Freiburg. And it’s not a high-density planting. Last year, we didn’t produce any red wine because of rot, which affected not only compact bunches but also small, loose ones.
Just to clarify, when I wrote “investors” in a previous post mentioning Würtzberg (formerly called Dr. Siemens), it’s actually one family who took over the estate. Their name is Heimes, and they have been running the winery since 2016.
Daniel Vollenweider, who died last year, and I had a talk about Pinot Noir in the Mosel Valley many years ago. At the time, he was skeptical about it. I pointed out to him that Pinot Noir was grown in the slate slopes of the Mosel and its tributaries already in the 19th century and that the Ahr Valley and famous Assmannshausen in Rheingau are farther north and also have slate soils. The difference is that Pinot Noir was banned for a period of time in the Mosel.
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I wonder how he would feel about that today. I think the dry wines he made towards the end of his career were amongst the best dry wines ever made in the Mosel. This had to be in part due to global warming. It is a tad ironic since he initially settled in the Mosel because of his love of sweet wine.
Oh how I would have loved to taste a Pinot from Daniel!
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