Saina Nieminen
Saina Nieminen
I attended a blind tasting of Ahr Sptburgunder - which was fun. The prices of the wines, however, will raise some eyebrows.
Weingut Jean Stodden Sptburgunder Recher Herrenberg Grosses Gewchs 2007 - Rech, Ahr, c.55
Nice and earthy and showing some very attractive lean Pinosity, but sadly showing quite a bit of oak. Good acid, crunchy red fruits, but again too much oak for me. Possibly very nice once the oak fades. Though since I've never had much exposure to Ahr, I have no idea how these age - but I would be surprised if they did decline very quickly.
WG Jean Stodden Sptburgunder Alte Reben 2007 - Rech, Ahr, c.80
Lovely aroma of lingonberry, less oak than in the first glass but it does still have some influence of it, lovely lean Pinosity, slightly reminiscent of J-P Brun's. Bright, crunchy and savoury. Slight oak still, but not in annoying amounts. Lovely. But not 80 lovely.
Weingut Deutzerhof Sptburgunder "Melchior C" 2007 - Mayschoss, Ahr, c.100
This was another of my favourites (what cheap tastes I have!). This also had very pure Pinosity in a leaner style and it again reminded me of J-P Brun if he would have a slight touch of new oak. But the palate is richer in fruit and it has a tiny, but lovely quinine-like bitterness that made this very moreish. Very nice.
WG Deutzerhof Sptburgunder Altenaher Eck Grosses Gewchs 2007 - Mayschoss, Ahr, c.50
Again this has pure pinosity, but no longer in such a lean style as the previous two wines. Instead, though recognizably Pinot, it has gamy and bloody aromas. Richer and less fragrant than most others in the line-up, but with moreish despite a bit of oak showing.
Weingut Meyer-Nkel Sptburgunder Dernauer Pfarrweingert 2008 - Dernau, Ahr, c.50
This was the only producer I had heard of before, but the most famous isn't necessarily the best. I thought this showed more oak than the others, it was quite toasty and spicy yet lacked the sexy aromatics I like to see in the grape. It seemed more like an attempt at oaking Gamay than PN! Crunchy palate, gravelly and rugged but sadly shows too much oak on the finish. It seemed quite "international" in style.
WG Meyer-Nkel Sptburgunder Walpforzheimer Kruterberg 2008 - Dernau, Ahr, c.70
This IMO was the better of the two Meyer-Nkels. It wasn't terribly fragrant at first but with some air it beings to show some gravelly and lean Pinosity - not a very sexy style, but attractive (except, as in all of these, there is a touch of oak present). Crunchy fruit, some quinine bitterness, lean and quite nice.
Gernot & Heike Heinrich Pinot Noir 2007 - Burgenland, Austria
This was the first joker, an Austrian in the midst of Germans. And though I have written very positively on several of Heinrich's reds, I wasn't very keen on this one. It smelled more of hot chocolate than wine: an unpleasant combination of oak and ripeness. The palate also shows too much bitter oak.
Becker-Landgraf Sptburgunder Gau-Odernheimer Rosenberg 2006 - Rheinhessen
This was our second joker. Very pale, very pure, but strangely not very fragrant. Opens up to show a little bit of oak. From the colour and scent I was expecting a light wine, but instead this was one of the richest and densest wines of the evening. Good balance of all components: ripe fruit, crunchy acidity and minerals all make this very moreish.
It was a hugely interesting tasting with some very nice wines. But I do wonder why they are still so enamoured with oak? (This, of course, cannot possibly my handicap.) I think a more serious problem than my oak aversion is that the prices simply are far too high. How many people will pay this much for admittedly good wines when you can get some GC Burgs for similar amounts?
To finish the tasting, we had a blind sweetie:
Willi Opitz OpitzOne 2004 which was ok but so super sweet that one can't say much else except that it had much of everything - including acidity - so it was fun and balanced in a perverse kind of way.
And while doing the dishes, our host opened up one more blind wine to help us work:
Barca Velha 1999 from the Douro, which was really very nice. Already very approachable (this must not be the norm for a young Barca Velha?) and with cherry and sandalwood aromas leading me to believe it was some Tuscan from a warm year. Nice red fruits and crunch on the palate. Drink and hold.
Weingut Jean Stodden Sptburgunder Recher Herrenberg Grosses Gewchs 2007 - Rech, Ahr, c.55
Nice and earthy and showing some very attractive lean Pinosity, but sadly showing quite a bit of oak. Good acid, crunchy red fruits, but again too much oak for me. Possibly very nice once the oak fades. Though since I've never had much exposure to Ahr, I have no idea how these age - but I would be surprised if they did decline very quickly.
WG Jean Stodden Sptburgunder Alte Reben 2007 - Rech, Ahr, c.80
Lovely aroma of lingonberry, less oak than in the first glass but it does still have some influence of it, lovely lean Pinosity, slightly reminiscent of J-P Brun's. Bright, crunchy and savoury. Slight oak still, but not in annoying amounts. Lovely. But not 80 lovely.
Weingut Deutzerhof Sptburgunder "Melchior C" 2007 - Mayschoss, Ahr, c.100
This was another of my favourites (what cheap tastes I have!). This also had very pure Pinosity in a leaner style and it again reminded me of J-P Brun if he would have a slight touch of new oak. But the palate is richer in fruit and it has a tiny, but lovely quinine-like bitterness that made this very moreish. Very nice.
WG Deutzerhof Sptburgunder Altenaher Eck Grosses Gewchs 2007 - Mayschoss, Ahr, c.50
Again this has pure pinosity, but no longer in such a lean style as the previous two wines. Instead, though recognizably Pinot, it has gamy and bloody aromas. Richer and less fragrant than most others in the line-up, but with moreish despite a bit of oak showing.
Weingut Meyer-Nkel Sptburgunder Dernauer Pfarrweingert 2008 - Dernau, Ahr, c.50
This was the only producer I had heard of before, but the most famous isn't necessarily the best. I thought this showed more oak than the others, it was quite toasty and spicy yet lacked the sexy aromatics I like to see in the grape. It seemed more like an attempt at oaking Gamay than PN! Crunchy palate, gravelly and rugged but sadly shows too much oak on the finish. It seemed quite "international" in style.
WG Meyer-Nkel Sptburgunder Walpforzheimer Kruterberg 2008 - Dernau, Ahr, c.70
This IMO was the better of the two Meyer-Nkels. It wasn't terribly fragrant at first but with some air it beings to show some gravelly and lean Pinosity - not a very sexy style, but attractive (except, as in all of these, there is a touch of oak present). Crunchy fruit, some quinine bitterness, lean and quite nice.
Gernot & Heike Heinrich Pinot Noir 2007 - Burgenland, Austria
This was the first joker, an Austrian in the midst of Germans. And though I have written very positively on several of Heinrich's reds, I wasn't very keen on this one. It smelled more of hot chocolate than wine: an unpleasant combination of oak and ripeness. The palate also shows too much bitter oak.
Becker-Landgraf Sptburgunder Gau-Odernheimer Rosenberg 2006 - Rheinhessen
This was our second joker. Very pale, very pure, but strangely not very fragrant. Opens up to show a little bit of oak. From the colour and scent I was expecting a light wine, but instead this was one of the richest and densest wines of the evening. Good balance of all components: ripe fruit, crunchy acidity and minerals all make this very moreish.
It was a hugely interesting tasting with some very nice wines. But I do wonder why they are still so enamoured with oak? (This, of course, cannot possibly my handicap.) I think a more serious problem than my oak aversion is that the prices simply are far too high. How many people will pay this much for admittedly good wines when you can get some GC Burgs for similar amounts?
To finish the tasting, we had a blind sweetie:
Willi Opitz OpitzOne 2004 which was ok but so super sweet that one can't say much else except that it had much of everything - including acidity - so it was fun and balanced in a perverse kind of way.
And while doing the dishes, our host opened up one more blind wine to help us work:
Barca Velha 1999 from the Douro, which was really very nice. Already very approachable (this must not be the norm for a young Barca Velha?) and with cherry and sandalwood aromas leading me to believe it was some Tuscan from a warm year. Nice red fruits and crunch on the palate. Drink and hold.