A pot of coq au vin required some Pinot. But these weren't your regular Pinots Noir. Both are Germans, both are awesome and one was a still white.
Shelter Winery Blanc de Noir 2008 is a Baden Pinot Noir vinified white and still and dry. Light as water. With a fairly low 12% abv, it is delightfully light and crisp, unoaked but it still shows some spicy Pinosity and red toned fruit. With such a profile and such a colour, it reminds me a little of Furmint. Delightfully acidic, but not annoyingly astringent - rather it provides a burst of freshness and is bracing. Lovely, but despite the coq au vin made with white wine for a change, the wine was perhaps a little bit light for such a rustic food.
But the red was all I wanted with such a dish. Weingut Becker Landgraf im Felsenkeller Gau-Odernheimer Spätburgunder trocken J² 2007 is a delicious Rheinhessen Pinot, full of sexy Pinosity and with a perfect amount of weight to go with our dinner. Sweet, ripe fruit, but unlike some '07 Rieslings wherein I found the fruit top-heavy and the acid insufficient, here I found a perfect balance of Pinot Sexiness and crispness. Very moreish. Lovely.
