2010 Bernhart Spätburgunder Trocken –Pfalz, Germany 13% alc.
This is the first bottled 2010 Pinot Noir that I’ve tasted from Germany, but I have gotten the chance to taste a few from barrel, and I’m very excited about the prospects of this vintage for the grape. The year has already proven to be Terroir proving-ground for Riesling and other white wines, and I think we all learned a lot about the importance of site and of selection from 2010, no matter how long you’ve been at it. To me, there are a lot of similarities here to the 2006 vintage in Burgundy (and similar weather at that.) To speak only of lower-end wines for the time being (the ‘bigger’ wines will start to be released through the end of spring and into the summer and fall of 2012), I am reminded very much of the juicier, brighter, floral, supple fruit of the 2006 HCDB and Village Burgs on release. These 2010 Spätburgunder wines share a lot of that femininity and grace, and are just plain no-nonsense good-drinkers. Funny, but it is something that Burgundy probably needed after 2005 and likewise what Germany can use after 2009 –a ying to the yang. I write this knowing full well that not many American wine enthusiasts are well, as enthusiastic about German Pinot Noir as I am (except for perhaps Claude), but this is truly an interesting vintage for fans of Pinot Noir and I hope that some of them get over there and make some friends.
Rainier cherry, rose-petal, hibiscus, pomegranate with a supple, tear-drop texture ending with a lip-smacking splash of acidity. Pure and delicious.
Cheers,
Bill