Quite right, there is plenty of room for dubious wines in traditional German spätburgunder, not to mention the older German clones of P.N.
However, modern German Pinot Noir is attempting to make more Bourgogne-style or New World-style P.N. with the help of global warming and in most cases a new generation of wine makers.
Regardless of what’s on the label, it’s what’s in the glass that counts and with the internet and social media, word quickly gets around of what is good and what isn’t.
We have had various Spätburgunder’s from the older producers like Bercher, Huber, Schneider, Salwey, Jöhner with 15 to 20 years age and they had not peaked. I have not had an older Spätburgunder from Mayer Näkel or Stodden, but I would imagine there is great aging potential there.
Similiarly Assmannshäuser Höllenberg has the potental for long lived Spätburugnder.
I bought a mag of 88 JB Becker that was direct from the Domain in a charity auction that Hans Joseph says is the best Spätburgunder he has ever made. And I think they have been working with Spätburgunder for over 70 years. Excited to try it!
I heard rumours about the 2017’s from Wasenhaus was developing rather quickly. So had to check in on it. And that is very true. The fruit has become much more mellow and cherry focused. Gone is the youthful fruit burst and more red fruited profile.
It is more focused on notes of mushrooms, leaves and even a little meat. Still with some spice and a slightly green element. It has now morphed into an “Autumn” wine. A food wine. Still light and delicious as always, but i will drink my 2017’s sooner rather than later based on my own personal preferences.
My last 2017 Muschelkalk from Enderle & Moll was sadly corked.
Just had the 2017 Bellen yesterday. Unsurprisingly, it was a delicious bottle. I don’t think I’d describe it as developing “rather quickly”, but it was in a great place currently and I was very happy to drink it now. Seamless palate, integrated tannins, plenty of bright fruit and whole cluster character - everything you’d want in a top Wasenhaus wine. Felt like it was shaping up nicely for 5 years of age.
I’m not sure this is a 15+ year ager, but I’d be happy to have more to drink over the next 5-10 years or so. My guess is that the 18s and 19s (and i’m sure 20s, though I haven’t tasted them yet) will age further - they have more structure (but still plenty of acid!) and I feel like the Wasenhaus folks really generally hit their stride in 2018.
Thanks a lot for that data point. I had mainly heard it about the Vulkan, so good to hear that it might not be the same case for the Bellen. As i often like these types of wines on the younger side i might open mine soon
I drank the Makalie ‘regular’ and Bleuwen in the last two days. Both really delicious light savoury wines, with low extraction not miles away from Wasenhaus in style. The Bleuwen was a bit more savoury, herbal and black olives.
2019 Wasenhaus Möhlin - Stunning. Needs a lot more time but drinkable now. I ordered it off a restaurant list so was not too worried about opening it too soon. Enormous structure, fruit concentration with a smokey mineral element. To me Möhlin is the most serious and structured of the Wasenhaus line up. Went beautiful with a ricotta-black cavatelli pasta with hedgehog mushrooms, nardellos and charred tomato. The charred tomato really went well with the wine’s smokey character.
A friend of mine served the 2019 Wasenhaus Vulkan blind this Saturday. Great wine. My wifes favourite among much more expensive stuff.
Very red fruited, floral and with that nice touch of wholecluster stem spice. I am going to keep my own bottles in the cellar for a bit longer though as the basis 2019 almost delivers the same joy at the moment.
Hi Lee, Sorry I’m so late in replying here - I’m sure that I was somehow notified about your question, and completely missed it.
Anyway, I was trying to say that the Molitors are within the middle range of CA/OR PN - probably way too vague looking back. Definitely nowhere near Marcassin in terms of ripeness/oak (which was too much for my palate in my limited experience) but also noticeably more oaky than what I’ve had (and liked so far) from Kelley Fox.
Generally, I’m pretty open to different amounts of oak in West Coast PN, provided that the wine has enough structure for the oak to integrate well over time for my palate. Overripe PN is the real killer for me, though.
As Mikael says, the Durst MV Spätburgunders are quite good. They’re actually more Burgundian in style than some of the other mentioned in this thread, and Andreas is quite transparent about the vintages that are in a given wine. He also makes an exceptional ancient vine Portugieser.