I was curious, and so I bought. How could you not be, when the seller called them “these were the best Spatburgunders that Baden, and possibly all of Germany, had to offer”? Yeah, I’m a sucker for the spiel. So maybe I held them too long? Perhaps…
Henrik Mobitz, Baden, Pinot Noir, ‘Kanzel’, 2012 Henrik Mobitz, Baden, Pinot Noir, ‘Koepfle’, 2012
I’m going to clump these together because - stylistically - they are so similar. Both at 13% alcohol, the color is very light and both are quite acidic and remind me of lesser 2008 red Burgundy. Thin, acidic, and very savory. I would say ‘red fruited’, but really that is a stretch, as the fruit is on the savory end (think apple skin and cherry bark, more akin to roots and leaves than the actual fruit) and very uncharming and austere. One had a slight reductiveness, with sulfur on the finish. One of the bottles I had to stop drinking after about a 1/3rd of it…at least I can cook with it. 1 more of each remaining, but not sure if time will be kind to it.
I was born and live in Baden.
First: you are a victim of advertising (who is Mobitz?).
Second: 2012 was a good but not superb Pinot Noir vintage here.
Third: If you are interested in fine Baden Pinot Noir try to find a bottle of Bernhard Huber (Bienenberg or Schlossberg, both Großes Gewächs GG = Grand Cru), Dr. Heger (Schlossberg GG or Winklerberg GG), Franz Keller (Kirchberg GG, Eichberg GG or Schlossberg GG).
Very good vintages for Pinot are 2015, 2016, 2018. Same as in Burgundy because both areas have pretty similar climates and soils and are closer to each other than many would suggest (Baden about 180 miles northwest).
I’m so happy how the stylistic change has shifted toward finesse and balance.
Still, I’d argue that there are lots of quality-minded producers who seem to equate excessive use of oak with quality, but with those you just need to skip their GG, “Reserve -S-” or whatever wine and pick the Spätburgunder from the second-highest tier. Or if they have two different wines labeled “Pinot Noir” and “Spätburgunder”, it seems the safest choice to go with the latter one; many German winemakers seem to think the Burgundy clone can tolerate more new oak than the German clone, while I certainly disagree with that notion.
The German winemakers had not a ton of experience with wines aging in new oak. Therefore the first results were certainly not satisfying most of the time. But especially the new generation of producers spent quite some time in top Burgundy Domains to learn. And it worked.
BTW. Many Burgundy producers lowered their percentage of new oak too over the last decade. Its not only a German phenomenon. And while German producers are often criticized for their use of new barriques nobody speaks about Rousseau or DRC who put their top wines into 100%!!! new oak. I know Baden wineries who got clones from DRC and these vines are not young any more.
The Mobitz wines are excellent. Your notes do not reflect my experience. Henrick was a part-time winemaker. He is a Ph.D, his day job is in cancer research at Novartis. Sadly he recently stopped making wine. He did give his vineyards to Wasenhaus which are producing the most exciting Pinots in Germany.
Here is some more info. from Lars on Henrik:
p.s. Also the wines were made in minuscule quantities and highly sought after so I don’t think whoever sold them to you needed to give a hard over promotional sell.
I would not say I am an expert however I am fairly informed for someone who resides in the U.S. where German pinots are extremely hard to find.
I was present for the largest, at the time, ever tasting, of Spatburgunder that was written up in the NY Times:
I have also attended dinners led by Lyle Fass who is the biggest importer and champion of Spatburgunder.
I am a bit obsessed with Wasenhaus and have probably had no joke 40+ of their wines in the last year.
I visited Fürst a couple of years ago and visited with Benedikt Baltes on the same trip.
I have been drinking Enderle and Mole since the beginning.
Bernard Huber is one that I have not had in several years I do have some in the cellar. The older ones were way too oakey and polished for me not to mention expensive.
I realize these are not all Baden just trying to give you a flavor of what I drink…I would be very happy for some new recommendations.
Bernhard Huber died way too soon a few years ago. Now his son is making the wines with a much more Burgundian approach. As I mentioned Dr. Heger and Franz Keller are making very good Pinots. Some more names are Holger Koch, Martin Wassmer, Hans-Peter Ziereisen. And there are much more. As I said in a former post: things have changed recently because more and more wineries are now run by a younger generation. Very good educated people most of the time. Forget the old Spätburgunder.
And yes – unfortunately the Großes Gewächs or Grands Crus got pretty expensive. But all the mentioned wineries offer entry level wines to reasonable prices. Some of them are interesting and a substitute for Bourgogne, Haut Cotes de Nuits and the like.
Jürgen - Thanks very much for the suggestions I regularly buy Dr. Heger and Holger Koch Grau and Weiss but have not had their Pinots in some time. I also buy Ziereisen from Lyle. I have not had Martin Wassmer and it looks like he is not imported into the U.S. I will surely try on my next visit to Germany.