I had these two spätburgunders within days of each other and that experience, combined with very educational chat upon a visit to the folks at Rudolf Fürst, made me start thinking. For those more experienced in German spätburgunder than I, are there significant and distinct regional differences that are typical of spätburgunders from the different regions? I ask because my introduction to the spätburgunders in Ahr really rubbed me the wrong way, whilst my initial forays into Kaiserstuhl/Baden and Franken left me much more impressed. My initial experiences have been limited to visits to Salwey and Franz Keller in Baden, Deutzerhof, Kreuzberg and Mayer-Näkel in Ahr and Fürst in Franken. And the Ahr wines (from the 2005 vintage anyway) struck me as mightily acidic, characterized by brutal flavors, and a heavier touch of oak. Fürst's 2005/2006 wines were relatively more concentrated and more built on combining fruit with other elements, but doing so in a really elegant way. The 2004ers from Baden were a very pleasant sort of middle ground, lighter and less obvious on the fruit front, but gentle flavors and a masterpiece work of spices. I was just wondering if the brutal approach of Ahr wines is typical or if there is some critical piece of information that I might be lacking here. Alas, I am not so far along in my wine confidence that I can sit across from a winemaker and say 'I don't like your wines . . . could you tell me why?'. Any guidance here appreciated!
2005 Deutzerhof (Cossmann-Helle) Ahr Spätburgunder Balthasar C. (Ahr, Germany) cork closure, 13.5% – appears brownish orange cranberry, slight silvery halo, smell quite meaty, some nutmeg and cloves, big full meatiness, taste harsh herbal berries, lots of spice, bit of tobacco and dirt, odd wine—very very tangy yet bit sweet, completely weird, didn’t feel disjointed, felt like someone was aiming for exactly this, an oddball wine that went for cooking after tasting similar on day two, not my thing for 14 euro, not sure of the appeal of this wine
2006 Rudolf Fürst Bürgstadter Franken Spätburgunder (Franken, Germany) cork closure, 13% - appears varying shades of cranberry, smell strong bacon and coffee, chocolate, breakfast in a glass!, strong complex and interesting nose, taste incredibly smooth, toward but not silky, bit of intense spiky acid that integrates nicely and lifts the wine, great integrated fruit, such wonderful sparks here, what an incredibly pleasant wine to drink and what an introduction to the potential for spätburgunder in certain parts of Franken, an absolute steal for 9.5 euro