2018 Gantenbein Pinot Noir
Community Tasting Note
Cailles wrote:
Tuesday, September 22, 2020 - First meeting with the newest vintage. This wine is extremly packed and has so much substance. No vintage since 2013 was so dark and dense at release, which might hint at the long-term potential of the wine. But this young and without extensive decanting, it was not the treat a young Gantenbein usually is. Nobody in the group, who had it double blind, guessed it to be Pinot Noir (Syrah was the main guess) due to the density, weight and exuberant ripe dark fruit. It will be interesting to revisit the wine in a year or two to see if that was enough time for the wine to have shed at least some of its baby fat. My guess is that it will need 10+ years minimum (the 2013 is not yet ready) to fully open up and especially to gain elegance. 90 points today. The question for me is, if this turns into a 2013 (which will be fantastic) or if it will always remain this too bold, too ripe wine. I wouldn‘t yet bet on a good outcome (maybe they overdid it with the green harvest and deleafing with the really hot summer afterwards).
TN: A massive wall of various dark fruits (a bit riper than other vintages before), just hints of red fruits, herbs, toasted oak, wet earth, spices. Super intense on the nose and palate. High complexity, good precision. Dense, with weight and punch. Tannins are round but still quite noticeable, good freshness. Overall, quite balanced eventhough its too powerful on every level.
Decanting: Not decanted. If you have to open a bottle today, I would decant it for at least 6 hours (better even a few hours the day before).
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