Germany: Ten Years After - 2004 Pinot Noir

After the extreme heat in 2003, 2004 was a cooler, more classic vintage that many consumers quickly wrote off as of little interest. Indeed, not all producers were up to the challenge, nor have all the wines aged as gracefully as I might have hoped, but ten years down the road the vintage speaks a clear message, with finesse rather than sumptuous depth playing first fiddle. While a majority of the Pinot Noirs already have their best days behind them, the finest show everything that we expect from this grape: purity, freshness and elegance. Further, while the average quality is much lower than in 2003, those who succeeded made lower-alcohol wines in a style that I personally prefer. 

Seldom has the dominance of Bernhard Huber in Baden and Friedrich Becker in the Pfalz been more apparent. Interestingly, the Pinot Noirs from Becker, which so clearly led the pack a decade ago, were definitively surpassed by those of Huber in our tasting this summer, perhaps due to the magnums from which the wines were served. A touch withdrawn at the time of their release, Huber's Pinots have nonetheless blossomed into the stars of the vintage. Sadly, Huber succumbed to cancer last year at just 57. Certainly no one has done more to make German Spätburgunder so respectable than Bernhard Huber. 

Even today, there are few other Pinot Noirs in the world that can give the best of Burgundy a run for their money. If fact, we placed two ringers in this year’s field, a 2004 Pommard Les Epenots (89) from Pierre Morey and a 2004 Chambertin Clos de Bèze (86) from Drouhin-Laroze. But, as in the World Cup match between France and Germany the night before our tasting that Germany won 1-0, neither of the French wines stood up to the competition, which consisted mostly of Grosses Gewächs (grand cru) bottlings or their predecessors. Granted, neither of those are iconic pinot producers in Burgundy, but we were more interested in seeing how the vintages compared.

Although German red wine was long considered an oxymoron, perceptions are beginning to change, especially as global warming makes regions like Baden and the southern Pfalz, where most of the Pinot Noir is found, more consistent in quality. In fact, about a third of all vineyards in the country are now planted with red varieties. Moreover, with 12,500 hectares of Spätburgunder, as it is known locally, Germany is one of the largest producers of Pinot Noir in the world. With importers, retailers and consumers continuing to seek new sources of Pinot Noir, attention is increasingly turning to Germany.

Baden is the third largest producing region in Germany, and the most popular on the domestic market, encompassing almost 16,000 hectares of vineyard, over a third of which are planted with Pinot Noir. It is also the country’s most southerly region and the only area classified as climate zone B by the European Union—on a par with Alsace, Burgundy, Champagne and the Loire Valley. The must weights here are thus higher than elsewhere and the wines tend to be fuller-bodied. The southern part of the Pfalz, just north of Alsace, is also at about the same latitude as Burgundy, but on the French side of the Rhine.

Bernhard Huber in his cellar

2004 Adeneuer Walporzheimer Gärkammer Spätburgunder Grosses Gewächs (Ahr): Alluring aromas of wild strawberry, raspberry and Asian spices are complemented by subtle smoke and vanilla. Full-bodied but also zesty and precise in its fruit, with tangy red berry flavors showing very good focus and a touch of allspice. This suave, elegant Pinot Noir is a lovely expression of the vintage on the Ahr. Although not yet truly fading, this may have been even better a few years ago. 90.

2004 Friedrich Becker Pinot Noir (Pfalz): Smoky aromas of plum, spice cake, licorice and mint. Finely balanced in spite of its enormous concentration, with layers of wild berry fruit and spices and exquisite tannins providing structure. Conveys sublime depth, with bacon and clove elements spiking the finish. This was my favorite 2004 Pinot Noir ten years ago and still shows exquisite length. The other Pinots Noirs here bear site names, but Fritz Becker always calls his best Spätburgunder of the vintage merely Pinot Noir. To be fair, I would have liked to compare it to the Wildenstein in a magnum bottle. 92.