I know that there is a big group of WASENHAUS lovers at this board. I am curious about your opinion&experience regarding this entry-level Spätburgunder and also brett in general.
2022 Wasenhaus Spätburgunder
„This is Wasenhaus’ entry level Pinot Noir; it is the gateway drug of this estate, cut from the same cloth as the top Grand Crus (unlike the “Grande Ordinaire, which is a much more free-form, bright and “natural” treatise on Pinot Noir from the region).
Some technical information: Sourced from mainly sandy and loess soils. The Spätburgunder comes from various parcels, it is “Baden Rouge” as you might say. Fermented mostly destemmed, with about 30% whole bunch, in a classic open oak vat. Fermentation lasted between 15 to 18 days and the wine was aged in used French oak barrels for 14 months.“ vom Boden
It starts with a captivating perfume….freshly picked ripe strawberries&raspberries and lovely silky-elegant on the palate. On the one hand a superb entry-level Spätburgunder on Day 1, BUT on the other hand I noticed brett on Day 2. In addition also a heavy loss of fruit which worries me quite a lot. Maybe I am totally wrong, we will find out in the coming years. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst (Jack Reacher).
P.S. I just found out on cellertracker that also other people talk about brett
Think I had 30-40 entry level bottles since the first vintage. Never had brett issues. But ofcause it can happen. Only had the 2022 once, so I have less data on that one.
But no, brett has not been an issue with Wasenhaus for me.
Yeah, day 2 doesn’t see like much of a concern. Maybe your tastes are different, but it’s very rare that I enjoy a Spätburgunder (or any red wine for that matter) on day 2.
And if you use that as projection into the future, this doesn’t seem like a wine you plan to keep for 15-20 years anyway. Unless as a curiosity.
I enjoy drinking wines of several days and watch development, besides the fact that my doctor would not be happy with me drinking a bottle of wine every day. I am not 20 anymore! hahaha
Of course, this Spätburgunder is made for early consumption, but drinking it after 5-6 years is not such a bad idea.
BTW, I was not happy yesterday night that I have to switch to another red wine, such bad was the drinking pleasure.
I would not keep the base Spätburgunder 5-6 years. Sure it will probably still drink fine enough, but they drink best 1-2 years after release. That is a hill I am willing to die on.
Yes, I know lots of people enjoy red wines on day 2, so I guess you’re one of them. I tend to find them flatter and less interesting. And I do have memories of the Wasenhaus base Spätburgunder getting especially volatile on day 2, so I can see how it would not have been fun.
Ah yes ofcause. It certainly sounds like there is a fault. We can always discuss that. I did check CT and it certainly sounds like they might have a bad batch in 2022. I have often been drinking it over two days with zero brett, so atleast I don’t think it is a common issue with their wines.
Wasenhaus is probably my favourite German winery. But they are not flawless. Their 2017 Vulkan fell of a cliff with age. And while my last two 2016’s has been good, I am still not sure their red wines will be better with age (10+ years) compared to their early’ish youth (only time will tell, but I am sceptical)
Not ok but it happens. I would say my hit rate of clean wines with hundreds of Wasenhaus data points is very high. 98-99%. And even a funky Gutedel turned out to be a stunning wine with some time in the cellar.
I’ve had 3 bottles of 2022 Wasenhaus (2x base, 1x Kalk). One of the base spätburgunder bottles was clearly bretty. My 5ish bottles from previous vintages have not had noticeable brett.
Truely fascinating, for me the Spätburgunder was undrinkable with brett. I had to switch to another red wine. And even worser the fruit was totally gone.
I Drank a bottle a couple of weeks ago and I did not find brett nor other faults but I have to say that I was bit surprised about reviews around the wine and the vintage as I found the wine to be quite stereotyphical low intervention wine. I also noted that bright fruit did fade with air leaving more room for greener natural apple seed vibes and I’m not a big fan of that. The wine was well made & clean but the German pinot/spätburgunder game has quite a lot of better stuff to offer at the price range of 20-30€ IMO. Or maybe I’m just not in target audience.
Not spätburgunder but you should try Schnaitmann’s alte reben trollinger! It’s like the the large pile of horse sh*t in a glass! And pretty damn tasty too .
.