I had one of these wines in the big Spätburgunderstudy. Nice honest, enjoyable wine that is an incredible value. Sadly Skurnik dropped them and as far as I know they are not imported into the U.S.
Terry Thiese has some recent information on them on his site:
Yes, the Weingart wines are not easy to get here in Europe, outside of Germany, either. I got the tip of the producer in a German wine forum concerning his sweet and dry white wines. They are QPR-gems and very underrated cause most of the consumers look at Mosel and Nahe when it comes to Riesling - Mittelrhein is mostly overlooked. This Spätburgunder was a “bycatch” but did his job well in a recent tasting with other SB from Ahr, Pfalz, Baden…
Weingart is very underrated and imo quality of wines have really rosen in 2020s (maybe it’s because of good vintages or maybe some changes in vinification who knows) but prices have stayed more or less the same since 2010 . Kinda surprised that Skurnik has dropped Weingart as their entry level wines are one of the best qpr-wines in the game (Mittelrhein Riesling trocken 2023 is 8.10€ from the cellar door) and are basically built for importing as they are so cheap. Spätburgunder used to be really heavy stuff (high alcohol & lots of oak) but seems to be way more elegant now (2022 is only 12.5%).
Well there is a lot going on. The Skurnik German portfolio has never been the same since Terry Thiese left. That 10 Euro wine becomes $25-30 in the U.S. after moving through the three tiers. 99.9% of American buyers have never heard of the Mittelrhein. And lastly Skurnik had too many producers so they did a major cull.
Keller Spatburgunder Reserve 2022 yesterday - absolutely beautiful. Deep, relatively dark, fruit lifted by a brilliant accidity and freshness. Perfect application of oak to add layers of spice and silkiness to the wine. Reminded me of a Mugneret Gibourg Bourgogne Rouge.
Thanks for the tip. I purchased a couple of Rudolf Fürst’s 2022 Spätburgunder Tradition and uncorked one of the bottles tonight. It’s a very good entry-level wine. My only visit to Fürst was in August 2009.
Some Spätburgunder history. Both showed well. Maybe I was hoping for too much or maybe it was the setting a very large noisy restaurant with bad glasses. Neither was profound nor showing much benefit from age. I sound like the typical Burgundy lover making excuses😂
Just rediscovered my 2018;Max Geitlinger Spätburgunder Rosé “Rosie” in the cellar! Here is my CT review - not really a tasting note:
I just stumbled across my Rosies, having forgotten about them for years. This is one of those Spätburgunder Rosés that present more as a light red than a Rosé. 11.5% abv. But here’s the kicker: some Merlot is in the cépage! To me, this smells like a funky Pinot Noir, and on the palate it seems Spätburgunder-ish. But not. The Merlot addition really makes it more singular. It is not on the level of some of the better light Spätburgunder Rosés like Enderle & Moll, nor is its distinct flavor profile up there with other distinct Rosés such as LdH, Chateau Simone or Clos Cibonne. But is worth checking out and quite a delicious drink. Excellent.
Intense and complex, cherry, red fruit, mixed berries, red flowers, fine oak touch, underwood. Fresh and mineral, med+ body, soft, well integrated tannins, harmonious and long. Beautiful Spätburgunder with great potential.
One of the highlights of a recent wine and dine with friends.
Red and dark fruitd, cherry, mixed berries, red flowers, fine spices, earthy. Fresh and mineral, medium body, fine tannins, harmonious and long finish. Got better and better with air. Juicy 12% and a great value for money
Well as you probably know, then I am sceptical that most Spätburgunder will benefit for prolonged ageing. I think they will hold up well, but not really become better than their youthful self.
That is atleast what I tell myself while drinking my Wasenhaus collection on the young side
Had the 2021 Bertram-Baltes Handwerk and it just such a fascinating wine. The greenness has toned done just a bit. All I can say is that it is just a joy to drink.
Yes, I was going to say, maybe it’s semantic but have you had ‘profound’ experiences with aged E&M before? I very much like the wines and have found some nice increased harmony with a bit of age. But they don’t strike me as playing in the ‘profound’ pool.
Either way, looks like a great pair of wines for dinner!
I would agree. I have had some very good older ones including a 2007 which I think was the first vintage. But none that has reached the profound level. The odd thing is they hold up really well so part of me wonders if they will ever get the tertiary characteristics of older Pinots from Burgundy.