I had a bottle of Holger Koch Reserve a year or two ago and have been on the lookout for more german pinot, picked up a becker spatburgunder today - excited to see how it is.
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As i made some mushroom based pies last night it called for a Pinot. The 2020 Wasenhaus was a bit strange for the first hour+ this time around. So if you plan to open any within the next six months, then give it and hour or two. I will let my last 20’s rest a bit now and focus on my 19’s.
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Grauer Stein probably needs more than 24 hours of extended air exposure. Exiting wine. As is the Silvaner Alte Reben
Anyone like Peter Wagners Eichberg?
My third bottle of the base 2020 Wasenhaus (since tasting from Barrell) and wow this one is on fire! Stunning!
Enjoyed this with Pizzas at John’s on Bleecker. Life does not get better.
A glass several hours later was even better.
BTW - Corkage at John’s is a whopping $18!
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I opened three bottles tonight (disclosure : these are paid samples but we are considering stocking them. )
The Weil am Rhein was the most natty, a bit of Pinot Blanc softness, yeasty but attractive to all.
Chardonnay was very fine, green tinged, soft oak, crisp.
Spatburgunder AR was my favourite, light extraction, reductive.
An estate to watch.
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Been a while since I had the 2016 Enderle & Moll Pinot Noir - Checked in on it a while ago and what a bottle it was.
The energy and tension in the bottle was quite stunning but what really stood out this time (had this vintage a number of times before) was the tannic structure. Don’t get me wrong there is still silkiness and an elegant touch to the wine, though in the background there is a quite understated tannic presence.
If you have bottles laying around, then I recommend opening one.
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Thanks for the note. I will see if I have a 16.
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Managed to get all the red 2020’s from Wasenhaus. So i am very happy. Will most likely be the last vintage that happens with 2021 incoming and their ever growing popularity.
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It has almost been a full time job chasing down as much as I could find in the U.S. I am very happy with what I have given 2021s are going to be non-existent.
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For the 2019’s it was not too hard to find some here in Europe with a little effort. 2020 has required a lot more and a bit of luck! So i can see where this is going.
Ah well i have enough to drink a few good bottles every year for the next decade or so (Vulkan and upwards). And with everything going on in Germany right now it will not be that hard to find good Spätburgunder in the future.
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And sadly they lost 80-90% of their crop in 2021.
Maybe it’s just my feed but there seem to be a lot of 750s of the regular spatburgunder at restaurants in NYC, makes sense as that was the only red I couldn’t get at retail this year.
True. And I am doing by best to drink as many as I can!
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Not sure if this is a Wasenhaus topic or spatburgunder topic. Here are
2 data points on spatburgunders I had last week at Christian Bau (Mosel, ***):
- Bernard Huber, Sommerhalde Spatburgunder R 2012 - the hand of the old master. Upon first glass, the nose was very expressive, fruits with a touch of wood, but as the wine opened up, it became a quite bold version of spatburgunder. Our table found it a bit too extracted, with some bitter notes.
- Franz Keller, Eichberg Spatburgunder 2014 - much more fruit forward, quite a cool expression of pinot. Not the length of the Huber, but our table like it more as it was just a bit more understated.
With both wines, I wouldn’t be afraid to let them age more.
Price was about the same for the, around 150 EUR per bottle.
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We are just overexcited about Wasenhaus hehe. It is certainly a thread for all thing Spätburgunder.
Thanks for the notes. Actually never tasted a wine from Huber. Is the oak very noticeable? The name sure is kinda Legendary when it comes to Spätburgunder.
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Thanks for the notes. I see a lot of old Hubers when I am in Germany. Did the son change up the style at all?
Which is the rarest. Kanzel?
From Wasenhaus i guess? Then i will say yes. Henrik Mobitz is involved in distribution/selling large parts of the bottles. So he is the main source for it as far as i understand.
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Indeed, that’s what the sommelier told us - that the son had changed winemaking - I guess to make more modern (less extracted?) wines, but the communication lines weren’t great so didn’t get all the details.
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