Typo? The bottle shot says Bernhard Koch. I’m a big fan of Holger Koch but never had Bernhard Koch. Any comparisons? Sounds like a big rich wine. And sounds like you’re a fan!
Opened one of my two or three remaining 16 Wasenhaus Bellen. It was very good but I can’t really say it has developed any tertiary flavors. Oh well life is short it was stunning with the lamb ribs at Eyval while dining with two of my favorite chefs in the world!
2 Likes
Drank these two yesterday. The Durst continues to be a really interesting wine. And a good wine too. It did get overshadowed by the Raphet, which was simply way way better than I usually expect from that house.
2 Likes
Of course, thank you, What I was thinking? For my defense it‘s late and hot.
Not big at all, elegant and balanced
Your reference to Syrah made me think it was a big one.
Tertiary flavors in a 9-year old wine would be a bit accelerated, no?!
Are you expecting that level of development from the Wasenhaus wines? I mean obviously they will eventually become tertiary and oxidized, but the young wines don’t strike me as something built for complex aging. They seem so reliant on seductive straight-forward fruit. (Although I suppose that happens everywhere these days…)
I think we are saying the same thing. It was really good but it has not really changed at all.
1 Like
I don’t think we can read anything into it. There is a lot of Germans living in Copenhagen… 
1 Like
Why wouldn’t you expect any tertiary development? Wines should evovle over time and change from their primary and secondary flavours slowly but steady at some pace depending on the wine, no?
Sure, as I mentioned above, all wines will eventually become tertiary/oxidized. But 9 years is a bit young for full-blown tertiary flavors, so I wasn’t sure if Robert was making a statement about his expectations. And, not all wines become more interesting in that stage. Obviously there is lots of subjective taste involved, but Wasenhaus never struck me as a candidate for wines that would become more complex or interesting with age.
I guess we think about tertiary development differently. I think of it as something that starts subtle and gradually takes over and dominate the wine completely. Earthy and nutty flavours, as an example, is something I often associate with tertiary notes which can show from a rather early age and grow into a dominating factor as it ages further. Hence I can see expectations of some tertiary notes at 5, 10, 15+ depending on the wine. How they show will just be different.
In regards to how Wasenhaus will age, and if they are wines that will age well - I dont know. Time will tell.
Sure, it’s all a spectrum. I’ve just found that many good 2016 red wines are still showing pretty young and I wouldn’t expect much tertiary development yet.
And I guess we’ll have to keep this thread going long enough for us all to track the Wasenhaus wines over decades! In the end, it all comes down to taste. I think we’ve had back and forth about this before, as I place Wasenhaus in the same category as top natural Beaujolais like Foillard Lapierre, etc, because of all the structural and fruit similarities. Whenever I taste those wines with 15/20+ years of age, they can be very delicious, but often very much in the same mold as upon release, just a bit more mellow. Frankly, the same could be said for many other top Spatburgunders I’ve tasted with that amount of age.
So personally, I’m not investing my energy/resources in aging them long-term. But others feel differently. And of course I could be wrong!
2 Likes
Well I certainly have my own doubts about how Wasenhaus will age. And I own quite a few bottles 
2 Likes
@LasseK if you remember, I only tried Wasenhaus in 2021 (Generic, Vulkan and Belen) and I was left wanting.
I pulled one of the generic 2 years later for the same bunch who tried it initially:
All might not be lost for me 
!
3 Likes
Good to hear you enjoyed it. As mentioned above then the 2021 has certainly evovled in a better direction than I thought.
1 Like
There was some leftover of this since the number of bottles I currently open (cellar depletion operation) is greater than my friends and my ability to consume them all (isn’t there a ring for that… one ring to consume them all!). Sign that A- I’m getting older, B- My friends are getting older, C- I open too many bottles.
All said to say, the nose on this is still wonderful: ripe cherries, roses and other florals and hint of herbs and earth. The palate is still fresh and crunchy but not thin nor weedy. The 2 additional years really got this in a better mood! I’m now interested in trying other vintages.
1 Like
Thats why I try to drink most of my bottles 1-3 years after release. They really come together. After that they sometimes close down badly.
1 Like
I’ve got some Vulkan and Bellen that will remain here in the Jura for the time being.
no formal notes but i had a saalwaechter spatburgunder alte reben 2020 the other night and it was drinking extremely well - I wasn’t sure what to expect with a more middling showing for the entry level spatburgunder a few months ago, but this was a very noticeable step up with really nice depth of fruit and more aromatics.
5 Likes
