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Germany’s Ahr Valley

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german pin ot noir

THE SECRET’S

out The exceptional quality of recent vintages has finally alerted the rest of the world to top German Pinot Noir, writes Anne Krebiehl IT’S CURIOUS when new things happen in the Old World – the emergence of a notable indigenous variety or rediscovery of a forgotten region – we subtly adjust our ideas and wonder why nobody had clocked earlier what was hidden in plain sight. Yet when the novelty concerns the holy grail of Pinot Noir we are sceptical. When it turns out to be German – namely Spätburgunder – we are incredulous. “Our customers are first surprised that Germany can produce red wines and then impressed by the quality level reached,” explains Claudia Pech, founder of German Wine Agencies, a London-based specialist importer. Indeed, it still comes as a surprise to most that Germany became the world’s third-largest producer

of Pinot Noir in 2006, after France and the US. While Germany’s Pinot Noir connection goes all the way back to a great-grandson of Charlemagne and various medieval monastic settlements, fine German Pinot Noir really is a new thing in the Old World. According to Georg Mauer, director of Wein & Glas, a leading Berlin-based retailer and wholesaler, top-end German Pinot Noir only hit the domestic market 10 to 15 years ago. From tentative beginnings in the 1980s when large parts of the German wine industry were at their lowest ebb, a new generation of highly trained, ambitious winemakers with international outlook and experience revolutionised Germany as a wine country. Their revival of historic sites and traditional German varieties, above all Riesling and Spätburgunder, and not least a new kind of self-confidence means that Germans themselves once again rejoice in their own wines: Riesling is now at the very top of its game and Spätburgunder is rapidly catching up.

Whenever we show Spätburgunder, clients are overwhelmed and not afraid to spend £50 on a bottle

Feature findings 4 Top-end German Pinot Noirs only hit the market 10-15 years ago, but with a new generation of skilled winemakers Spätburgunder is now hot on the heels of Riesling. 4 Despite prices of up to e120 (HK$1,217) per bottle, top wines regularly sell out, although there is no secondary market yet. 4 Merchants, and collectors of Bordeaux and Burgundy, are seeing Spätburgunder as a quality alternative to pricey Burgundy. 4 Availability of top German Pinot Noirs is a problem as very few are exported, as is the impenetrability of German labels. 4 Although not given Parker ratings, most of the top Pinots can benefit from the VDP’s stringent “Grosses Gewächs” (GG) classification.

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german pin ot no ir

Spätburgunder: top regions and producers The regions Ahr: a narrow, northerly slate ravine along the river Ahr with an amazing meso-climate Baden: Germany’s warmest, sunniest and most southerly region with volcanic, loess and limestone soils

Pfalz: protected, warm and sunny region with a huge mix of soils – limestone, sandstone, red slate and loess Franken (Franconia): sandstone and clay

Source: Anne Krebiehl

Top producers

Who to watch

Weingut Meyer-Näkel Weingut Jean Stodden

Weingut Deutzerhof Weingut JJ Adeneuer

Weingut Bernhard Huber Weingut Dr Heger

Weingut Bercher Weingut Ziereisen Weingut Franz Keller Schwarzer Adler Weingut Salwey Weingut Karl H Johner Weingut Reinhold & Cornelia Schneider

Weingut Knipser Johannishof Weingut Ökonomierat Rebholz Weingut Friedrich Becker

Weingut A Christmann Weingut Philipp Kuhn Weingut Dr Wehrheim

Weingut Rudolf Fürst

Mosel-Saar-Ruwer: steep slate sites

Weingut Markus Molitor

Rheingau: mica schist and slate

Weingut August Kesseler

Württemberg: southerly region with marl and gypsum soils Rheinhessen: numerous limestone and slate soils

COMING OF AGE It seemed odd that in a climate so similar to Burgundy, on often ancient vineyards of limestone, slate, volcanic rock, sandstone and loess, Spätburgunder – Germany’s moniker for Pinot Noir – should be so very different from its admired French brother. Spätburgunderdominated regions like Ahr and Baden routinely thermo-vinified most of their Pinot Noir into fruit-driven, light red for regional consumption. In the 1980s some pioneers set to work and a whole number of factors coincided: immense viticultural progress combined with climate change meant ripe, red grapes; an uncompromising drive for quality meant drastically reduced yields; training, international outlook and experience meant new red-wine expertise in a predominantly white wine producing country. Domestic demand for red wines meant the doubling of Spätburgunder plantings from 1990 to 2010. The development of looseclustered, small-berried German clones released in 1999 to rival French clones and planted by ambitious growers who

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Weingut Schaitmann Weingut Dautel Weingut Keller Winzerhof Thörle

also tended their own massal selections was crucial; as was a complete mental shift from quality to quantity: rather than grubbing up 1950s high-yield clones as their productivity waned, growers preserved these vines, which now yield concentrated fruit with a uniquely German savouriness, reminiscent of lovage and bay. By the turn of the millennium, it became acceptable, even cool, for Germans to drink Spätburgunder. While the wines initially flirted with too much extraction and over-oaking, they have now come of age. With 11,756 hectares of Pinot Noir planted (more than Australia and New Zealand combined), it’s only natural that there should be a growing, exciting, ambitious and distinctive fine Spätburgunder segment and some exceptional wines. Despite prices between e40 (HK$405) and e120 per bottle, the top wines regularly sell out – at the cellar door, in retail and in the on-trade. Mauer explains: “These are small vineyard parcels, labour is intense and production structures are similar to Burgundy and

Piedmont; prices are justified.” While Spätburgunder has improved immensely across the board, Mauer also stresses that this is only true for a handful of top producers with limited output. Their wines, however, are sought after. “Increasingly [wine] collections are built up which are no longer purely French,” says Mauer. However, there is no secondary market for these wines yet, says Michael Unger, partner at auctioneer Koppe & Partner: presently Spätburgunder is bought to be drunk. Internationally, news of this new Pinot Noir from the Old World is slowly filtering through. “People are a bit confused about what ‘Spätburgunder’ means, but the more informed merchants have seen that these [wines] have a

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Ahr Valley vineyards terrific standing,” says Nigel Blundell, at UK importer ABS Wine Agencies. Iris Ellmann, managing director of Wine Barn, a UK-based German specialist, says: “Whenever we show Spätburgunder, clients are overwhelmed and not afraid to spend £50 [HK$624] on a bottle.” In her experience, Spätburgunder finds favour

Brothers & Rudd have added three Spätburgunders to their list. German buyer David Berry Green is cautious: “We are looking to reflect what’s going on in the fine wine market without overcommitting ourselves at this stage.” His doubts concern pricing, but he concedes: “People who are really passionate about Pinot Noir will be interested in what Germany is doing; when they see the prices they’ll take a deep breath.” London Burgundy specialists Goedhuis & Co earlier this year offered and sold out their first Spätburgunder parcel. “We’ve been exposed to really lovely top-end single vineyard Riesling,” recounts Julian Chamberlen, sales director, “and along comes something that is very close to our hearts in the form of Pinot Noir that was incredibly impressive.” After a good review from Jancis Robinson MW in summer 2012, Pech’s tiny allocation of “garagiste” Spätburgunder from Enderle & Moll was completely oversubscribed.

There are some amazingly good quality wines, easily comparable to Burgundies, but not necessarily at such high prices with younger collectors of Burgundy and Bordeaux. “This is exciting because these people know their wines, have fantastic cellars but want to try something new that is not just a trend,” she explains. Even blue-chip UK vintners Berry

GENUINE ALTERNATIVE For Gareth Birchley, buyer at Bordeaux Index in London, which recently took on Spätburgunder, reactions have been “pretty good, people are very keen to try and those who have tried have been incredibly impressed”. He sees Spätburgunder as a quality alterative to ever more pricey Burgundy. Asian merchants have been thinking along the same lines. Mike Convey, of Abbelio Wines, a Hong Kong online merchant stocking Spätburgunder since early 2012, explains: “We try to find niches for wines which aren’t normally very popular but which we believe are worthwhile.” Of Spätburgunder, he says: “There are some amazingly good quality wines, easily

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german pin ot no ir Pinot Noir: plantings throughout the world

France US (California, Oregon, Washington) Germany Australia New Zealand Switzerland Italy Chile Argentina South Africa Austria Luxembourg TOTAL

Vineyard area (hectares) 30,659 21,037

Share (%)

11,756 5,061 4,828 4,352 3,300 2,130 1.681 962 649 102 86,517

13.6 5.8 5.6 5.0 3.8 2.5 1.9 1.1 0.8 0.1 100

35.4 24.3

Source: Deutscher Wein Statistik 2012/2013 – German Wine Institute, Mainz

comparable to Burgundies, but not necessarily at such high prices. It’s not cheap but that doesn’t mean it’s not good value.” André Kok, managing director of Hong Kong-based McGavin and Kok Fine Wine & Spirits, agrees: “The climate in Hong Kong is changing. It’s only going to take a little time for people to be comfortable with wines from around the world, so we decided to take on German wines. They’ve long been overlooked;

The US picture is similar. Rudi Wiest, veteran importer and founder of Rudi Wiest Selections, thinks that many merchants don‘t even know how good Spätburgunder wines are. The progress of the last 10 to 15 years has been incredible.” He supplies, among others, Crush Wine Co in New York City, which has been selling Spätburgunder since 2007. Buyer Joe Salamone says Spätburgunder appeals to Riesling lovers and those “experienced with Burgundy”. He explains: “They look at adding another small dimension to a collection, but their primary focus is elsewhere.” Nonetheless, Salamone is convinced that “Spätburgunders have a very high level of quality and have something to say about Pinot Noir”. HARD TO GET HOLD OF Among the drawbacks – apart from the prices – for top German Pinots is their limited availability. There is no enprimeur mechanism but a strong tradition of direct-to-client ex-cellar sales. Many top wines thus disappear straight into the cellars of German collectors. The VDP, Germany’s association of top wine estates, states a direct sales ratio of 50% among its members. However, Pascal Dautel, of DeutschweinClassics, the German-wine-division of giant distributor WeinWolf, reckons that the ratio is usually 40-70%, with 20-30% earmarked for German merchant distribution, which leaves only a tiny amount for export. Steffen Christmann, chairman of the VDP, is certain that direct-toclient sales will decrease while export becomes more important. The much-cursed impenetrability of German labelling has been addressed: most Spätburgunder labels are clear-cut and often proclaim “Pinot Noir”. Neither have the top wines attracted American-style scores. Unger thinks “scores are a tool and Germany still has to catch up on that”. Ellmann believes Parker ratings would really help. However, most of the top Pinot producers are VDP members and can thus benefit from the VDP’s own stringent “Grosses Gewächs” (GG)

German wines have long been overlooked; Pinot Noir from Germany is probably one of the most underrated wines in the world Pinot Noir from Germany is probably one of the most underrated wines in the world.” For the time being, though, he observes: “German sales are so focused on Riesling, Pinot Noir still flies under the radar.”

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classification. GG set a new standard for Riesling and as recently as 2003 the first Spätburgunder GGs of the 2000 vintage came out. For Mauer, this classification has been a “remarkable success story” since it brought “Pinots from very particular single sites into focus”. For Boon Heng, of Wein & Vin in Singapore, the VDP itself is “a seal of quality. When it comes to GG we tell customers that it’s like a grand cru but even stricter: the sites are classified, the wines are tasted by judging panels”. Ellmann pragmatically states: “Even if you don’t know the ins and outs of Germany you can be sure that it’s a top wine.” Wiest echoes this: “The difference between Germany and Burgundy is that you have to pay for a grand cru regardless of quality, in Germany when you buy GG, you get great wine.” Even if top Spätburgunder for now still occupies a niche, with increasing vine age and constantly improving skill, it is set to play a much bigger role in fine wine markets. As an Old World wine, it comes with a whole lot of history and offers intriguing facets of Pinot Noir, from steep Ahr slate, Pfalz limestone, Baden basalt or Franconian sandstone. This of course means that there is no one, overarching Spätburgunder style. For Christmann this is what makes it exciting: “Consumers who move within the very top of Pinot Noir are explicitly looking for such individuality and variety.” The parallels with Burgundy are all too evident: a fragmented producer base, varying styles, vintage variation and limited output. Hence, just as in Burgundy the motto must be caveat emptor: know your producer and give the wines time in the cellar. They age beautifully, even if nobody can yet stage a 30-year-vertical. Two great vintages – an opulent 2009 and a concentrated 2010 – have lifted the lid on what used to be a purely German cult. Now that the secret is out, they won’t be able to keep Spätburgunder to themselves anymore and that elusive Pinot-epiphany will occasionally come with an umlaut. db