Kaiserberg Herbolzheim Spätburgunder

Since its foundation, Fritz Waßmer Weingut situated in the Baden, Germany, has earned a good reputation in professional wine circles and has been honored with various national and international awards. These include annual gold, silver & bronze medals from the Decanter World Wine Awards. Founded in 1998, Fritz Waßmer has pursued his own wine style: independent, finesse-rich and profound wines.

This Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) is created from the grapes of 2 small terraces high up on the so-called Kaiserberg, east of the small town of Herbolzheim. The grapes from this simply can no longer be squeezed into an XXL and the result is this cuvée, which has already received so much attention that although in its debut vintage, it has entered the wine list of a number of Germany's hyped gourmet restaurants. The grapes are harvested by hand and placed in small plastic boxes before being driven down to the winery where all stalks are removed before the grapes are crushed and spontaneously fermented in open new French casks.

An excellent, extremely potent and very promising Pinot Noir. The wine opens with a fascinating scent where the sweet exotic spices of the oak completely embrace the fruit, but slowly forest strawberries, dark cherries and raspberries begin to join in. The wine is full-bodied, very aromatic and very rich in, but just before it all gets too bombastic a lively fruit acid ripples and ensures that the superlatives stay in line. Undoubtedly the most subtle and powerful Pinot Noir from Fritz Waßmer to date, and surely a wine that, although already very generous, will become more sophisticated over time.