1998 Pinot Noir Tba

Arriving to enjoy a meal at the restaurant Zur Dankbarkeit, I discovered that proprietors Heidi and Josef Lentsch are also serious vintners. Josef Lentsch has a special passion for pinot noir and pinot gris and a refreshingly unfashionable approach with sweet wines that are often relatively high in alcohol (a terrific '97 cuvee reached 14%), rather dry, and marked by slow fermentation and 18 or more months in wood. "The pure interplay of sugars and acids can be lovely, but for me it important that the wine have enough alcohol, and not too much sweetness. I'm striving for sweet wine that will be fun to drink. As a restaurateur, I want to encourage the consumption of the second glass." That was easy in my case, as I made a point of returning for a second evening.