December 28, 2022 - This is like a German Cote Rotie. Smoky like Lagavulin, but less intense. I would bet that most wine drinkers would find this disgusting or unbalanced, but I find it intriguing.
This reminds me of the first time I had aged Syrah, which was a grape I had previously not liked. When I had a 1985 Guigal Cornas, I was mesmerized. Far from perfect, it was just fascinating. So is this.
July 30, 2022 - Splash decanted and served with grilled steaks. This was a light, bright, ruby color. There is a distinct old style burg air to this wine. Modest in alcohol and seems a bit under-ripe. Definitely cool climate/vintage. Good acidity but lacking in fruit a bit and quite mineral dominant. None of which is a surprise given the source of the grapes used. Seemed thin trexturally and short. It just didn’t seem quite as well balanced as other Spatburgunders I have had from Josef Walter, though certainly a pleasant accompaniment to the meal.
November 9, 2020 - Huh, could not be more different from my previous btls: this tastes like a lot like a very pyrazine-infected 04 burg. The stems(?) are overdone, and this smells like dead bugs. On the palate: good acidity, wild strawberry but a touch metallic and stemmy. Different barrel than other batches?
Ok, revision: this btl is just tainted. Almost undrinkable with more time open.
May 31, 2020 - Beautiful sweet cherry fruit, dusty tannins. lovely aromatics that, if anything improved on day two.
January 11, 2020 - Lovely again. Beautiful mix of stem inclusion, well-judged oak. On the nose: not as green as my previous bottle was at first: loads of sweet wild strawberry. Lovely on the palate, with excellent depth and more wild strawberry and a touch of herbs. Soft tannin on the finish.
January 14, 2019 - MNB: Non-Burgundy Pinot (Home (Noe st)): (blind)
Medium minus ruby with slight garnet at the rim.
Elevated intensity nose, hints of reduction, wet leaves, mid-ripeness red and black cherry (a bit dry), dried flowers, hints of dried cinnamon/nutmeg (40% new French oak). This is a really well-integrated, satiny-textured nose!
On the palate, super well-integrated and refined. Wet leaves, slight mushroom, slight vanilla oak (well-melded at this point). 14% alcohol (actually 13%), elevated acid, medium plus tannins (melted and silky). Long finish - dried leaves and cherry. Given the wet leaves, maybe 30% whole cluster / stem inclusion.
Well-contained alcohol, moderate use of new oak, New World style, with some graceful aging (10 years):
- Sonoma Pinot - not as earthy
- OR Pinot - not as earthy as this
- Central Otago - fits
Final call: 2011 Central Otago Pinot - $40-60.
Actually: 2011 Spatburgunder J Hundsruck trocken, Franken - Josef Walter - Germany - a Fass bottle ($47)
Analysis: This is a pretty good example of a greener/herbaceous style of Pinot. I wasn't too far off, though the alcohol is significantly lower than I thought.
October 24, 2017 - Poured into a wide-bottom decanter. Notes from about 30 min open. Holy cow, this was phenomenal. The nose screams black fruit and then black tea and herbs (slightly skunky/weedy at first, but that blew off quickly). Fantastic intensity. On the palate, more black tea and cherries; the acidity appears as tanginess, bur comes off as slightly attenuated at first. The lighter rosy/red color makes you think this is going to be lighter than it is..which is solidly medium bodied. Beautiful, dusty, slightly tannic finish. This couldn't be more different an expression of Hundsruck than that of Furst, but it seems a great exemplar of the possible range.
With time, this just grows in complexity, and when I poured it back in the bottle and cleaned the decanter, that perfume just lingers...