From a tasting of aged spätburgunders in Stuttgart on September 13th-2010. The tasting was organized by Weingut Aldinger and displayed wines from both Württemberg and Baden from the 2007-vintage and back to 1990. The three wines from Württemburg seemed all harder, more oaky and less interesting than the spätburgunders from Baden. The latter showed more depth. Some were hard and oaky here also. Among the modern wines Bernhard Huber makes splendid seemsless spätburgunders. But the finest single wine was for me the more traditionally made 1990 spätburgunder from Blankenhornsberg.
Gundelsheimer Himmelreich spätburgunder grosses gewächs 2005, Staatsweingut Weinsberg
Deep red colour. Dark berries and toasted oak on the nose. Medium bodied spätburgunder in the mouth. Lightly sweetish entry and lots of toasty oak. Decent acidity and a hard oaky finish with hard tannins. Not a success. Poor style.
Untertürkheimer Herzogenberg spätburgunder “R” reserve 2003, Weingut Wöhrwag
Deep red colour. Sweetish ripe fruit-notes. Oaky notes. Powerful and ripe style in the mouth. One-dimensional wine. Ripe fruits. Dark berries. Some oak. Medium acidity and a lightly hard oaky finish. Shows more fruit, but still very simple wine with a balance I highly dislike.
Spätburgunder auslese trocken Jubileums-edition “5 jahre in holzfass” 2003, Schlossgut Hohenbeilstein
Deep red colour. More intense nose. Red berries, also very ripe fruits. Medium to fullbodied in the mouth. Much ripe berries. Red berries. Some oak-notes, but more in the background here. Medium acidity. Slightly hard tannic finish, but showing more grape-tannin. Good, although not very exciting.
Durbacher Plauelrain spätburgunder spätlese trocken 2007, Andreas Laible
Red colour. Lightly burnt nose. Some red berries, compost. Medium bodied. Cleaner and more acidic taste. Slightly floral, anisy fruit. More interesting, but not too deep. Fine acidity. Acidity-driven spätburgunder. Medium tannins in the back. Nice and good.
Spätburgunder 2007, Reichsgraf zu Hoensbroech
Light red colour. Lots of liquorice on the nose. Some flowers and acidic berries. Little oak. Lighter style in the mouth. Even more acidity-driven spätburgunder.Bright fruit-notes. Nettle, citrus, flowers. Some anise. Quite nice, and differs from the other wines this evening. Fine acidity. Some tannins in the back. Good.
Burkheimer Feuerberg spätburgunder grosses gewächs 2004, Weingut Bercher
Red colour. Oak, floral notes and red berries on the nose. More noble style here. Still young and unintegrated. Fullbodied spätburgunder in the mouth. Concentrated, almost fat fruit. Yet quite silky style. Red berries and florality. Obvious oak-notes. Good acidity and fine tannins on the finish. Very good wine. Shows a little too much oak for my liking. Perhaps it will integrate better with more cellaring.
Spätburgunder auslese “R” 2003, Weingut Schlör
Deep red colour. Dark berries, oak on the nose. Shows some development. Hints of autumn-leafs. Powerful spätburgunder in the mouth. Lots of fruit. Quite heavy oak. Sweetish fruits. Liquorice and smokey notes. Lower acids, but fair balance. Nice and good.
Pinot noir “R” 2002, Weingut Schlumberger
Red colour. Liquorice and red berries on the nose. Good body. A little neutral style with some red berries and anise. Fine acidity and medium tannic finish. Not very pinot noir-like. Fair quality.
Spätburgunder “R” 2001, Bernhard Huber
Brick-red colour. Pretty nose. Compost, autumn-leafs. Oak-notes. Medium bodied spätburgunder in the mouth. Oaky, but well integrated. Seemless and greatly made wine. Lots of autumn-leafs, red berries, some oak-notes. Fine acidity. Refreshing wine. Fine tannins on the back. Good length. Very well-made modern wine. Very good.
Ihringer Winklerberg spätburgunder spätlese trocken 1999, Rudolf Stigler
Red colour. Fine nose. Anise, autumn-leafs, flowers. Also some odd notes of ash. Medium bodied spätburgunder in the mouth. Little oak. Fine style. Touch of sweetness in the fruit. A little ripe and more unfocused than the nose. Anise and ash. Some red berries. Medium acidity and light tannins in the back. Good and best on the nose.
Blankenhornsberger Doktorgarten spätburgunder spätlese trocken 1990, Staatsweingut Blankenhornsberg
Brown-red colour. Intense, complex and evolved nose. Lots of compost and anise. Transparent and great nose. Light sweetness in the mouth. Light and mature spätburgunder. Very nice fruit. Complex and fully evolved. Compost, anise, some red berries. Aged sweetness. Fine acidity. Tannins fully resolved. Long taste. Great wine on top now.
The Doktorgarten-einzellage below Staatsweingut Blankenhornsberg.
Arnt Egil Nordlien
Tasting notes: Sep-2010
