Keith Levenberg
Keith Levenberg
Recently tried these for the first time. German pinot noir from Baden. (I know absolutely nothing about Baden.) Imported by Fass Selections and clearly one of the producers Lyle is especially excited about.
I had the Koepfle and Kanzel vineyard bottlings from 2013. There's also a third one called Kapelle that I didn't get. I found the Koepfle more interesting than the Kanzel but they were both really impressive.
The Kanzel is in the light, finessed style. Somewhat along the lines of Enderle & Moll but not quite as extreme in that direction. Started off with a little bit of CO2 I needed to shake out with fairly grippy fruit that got more airy and ethereal as it sat in the glass, as much perfume as liquid. (That's when the E&M comparison started to arise.) It also picked up an intense gravelly character. The overall personality was like you crossed an E&M with a Volnay 1er cru.
The Koepfle was more animal and vegetable, less mineral, and maybe more distinctive. It's much harder to compare this to other frames of reference for pinot. It's denser and more in line with Burgundy as far as size and weight goes but the flavors are totally different. There was a piney, rosemary-like, woodsy quality that I found really compelling in this, a very verdant kind of green that evokes forestal qualities, not the kind of green that's a codeword for underripe. The fruit here feels if anything riper than the Kanzel - it's denser and darker, anyway. But the tannin a bit more screechy and ragged. I'm willing to trade finesse for this kind of personality and depth, though. Lots of intrigue here. I'm probably more inclined to keep following these than the Enderles, which, as much as I love them, all feel kind of similar to each other and I've put them on the shelf for awhile. Here there is enough complexity (much as I hate that term) it's hard to imagine getting tired of it.
I had the Koepfle and Kanzel vineyard bottlings from 2013. There's also a third one called Kapelle that I didn't get. I found the Koepfle more interesting than the Kanzel but they were both really impressive.
The Kanzel is in the light, finessed style. Somewhat along the lines of Enderle & Moll but not quite as extreme in that direction. Started off with a little bit of CO2 I needed to shake out with fairly grippy fruit that got more airy and ethereal as it sat in the glass, as much perfume as liquid. (That's when the E&M comparison started to arise.) It also picked up an intense gravelly character. The overall personality was like you crossed an E&M with a Volnay 1er cru.
The Koepfle was more animal and vegetable, less mineral, and maybe more distinctive. It's much harder to compare this to other frames of reference for pinot. It's denser and more in line with Burgundy as far as size and weight goes but the flavors are totally different. There was a piney, rosemary-like, woodsy quality that I found really compelling in this, a very verdant kind of green that evokes forestal qualities, not the kind of green that's a codeword for underripe. The fruit here feels if anything riper than the Kanzel - it's denser and darker, anyway. But the tannin a bit more screechy and ragged. I'm willing to trade finesse for this kind of personality and depth, though. Lots of intrigue here. I'm probably more inclined to keep following these than the Enderles, which, as much as I love them, all feel kind of similar to each other and I've put them on the shelf for awhile. Here there is enough complexity (much as I hate that term) it's hard to imagine getting tired of it.