WTN: Becker Spätburgunder

Friederich Becker Spätburgunder QbA 2008, 12,5%

A svelt and elegant little Pinot Noir. Not terribly complex, but generous of fruit with ripe Rainier cherry, rose hips, hibiscus and smoke. When you grow some of the best Pinot Noir in Germany, even your most simple wine is an upgrade.

Sounds very nice. Do you have much experience with Becker's higher end Pinots? (Seen a few around the US, but the prices are hideous, certainly far more than I'm willing to pay for red wine...)

Sounds very nice. Do you have much experience with Becker's higher end Pinots? (Seen a few around the US, but the prices are hideous, certainly far more than I'm willing to pay for red wine...)

Salil,

Sadly, No. I have had a couple of the mid-priced wines including a Sonnenberg GG (38€?), but never the 'Pinot Noir' bottling, which may be the most expensive red in Germany (excluding auction wines.) I went through Schweigen a couple of months ago on my way to Straßbourg. Interestingly, Schweigen is on the Alsace border (it is where the Deutches Weintor stands) and a couple of the towns vineyards are still located in France (kind of a Collio, Italy\Slovenia arrangement of sorts.) I'll try to return after the harvest for a proper visit.

Cheers,
Bill

This sounds very interesting. I have little experience of German Pinot Noir but in recent years it is getting a lot of praise.
Those from the Ahr valley which I tried at a tasting a few years ago struck me as over-priced and over-oaked and in earlier decades some from Assmannshausen did not leave an imperishable memory. The warmer climate now should be bringing improvements.

Additionally, I guess that the more southerly climate in the Pfalz is much more favourable.

Next time I go through Alsace towards Italy, I'll try to make a detour. Some fine classical Riesling in that area is also an attraction .

This sounds very interesting. I have little experience of German Pinot Noir but in recent years it is getting a lot of praise.
Those from the Ahr valley which I tried at a tasting a few years ago struck me as over-priced and over-oaked and in earlier decades some from Assmannshausen did not leave an imperishable memory. The warmer climate now should be bringing improvements.

Additionally, I guess that the more southerly climate in the Pfalz is much more favourable.

Next time I go through Alsace towards Italy, I'll try to make a detour. Some fine classical Riesling in that area is also an attraction .

Tim,

I think that your experiences with Ahr Pinot Noir were certainly the reality a few years ago, but every year the better vintners are making improvements on the old model, and the oak usage has been dialed back (like it has in many regions worldwide.) The prices generally remain high as the demand here for good German-made Pinot Noir is staggering.

There are also a handful of producers of Assmannshausen (Krone, Kesseler, R. König, Staatsweinguter Assmannshausen) that are making fantastic Pinot Noir these days as climatic conditions and technical expertise improve, and also some on the other end of the Rheingau in Hochheim who have taken up the good cause (Künstler being the best example.)

Practically every one of Germanys other 10 wine growing regions are making good Pinot Noir (with great wines from Franken, Baden and Württemberg.) though I have never tasted a convincing Mosel Pinot and I have zero experience with that grape from Saale-Unstrut or Sachsen.

As for the Pfalz, it is indeed worth a detour. The best Spätburgunders are coming from the Südliche Weinstraße (south of Neustadt) and the Northern Mittelhaardt (north of Bad Dürkheim) with the majority of the big-name producers in the middle between Bad Dürkheim and Neustadt concentrating on Riesling.

Cheers,

Bill

Sounds very nice. Do you have much experience with Becker's higher end Pinots? (Seen a few around the US, but the prices are hideous, certainly far more than I'm willing to pay for red wine...)

Salil,

Sadly, No. I have had a couple of the mid-priced wines including a Sonnenberg GG (38€?), but never the 'Pinot Noir' bottling, which may be the most expensive red in Germany (excluding auction wines.) I went through Schweigen a couple of months ago on my way to Straßbourg. Interestingly, Schweigen is on the Alsace border (it is where the Deutches Weintor stands) and a couple of the towns vineyards are still located in France (kind of a Collio, Italy\Slovenia arrangement of sorts.) I'll try to return after the harvest for a proper visit.

Cheers,
Bill

Bill - I just joined this board, and therefore just got to reading this thread now. Anyway, I am wondering if you are by chance confusing Becker's Pinot Noir and Tafelwein bottlings. The Becker Tafelwein is quite expensive in the US (when it is even available), and seems to be something of a cult wine in Germany. On the other hand, I had an 06 Becker wine labeled as 'Pinot Noir' last year at a Rudi Wiest event that, by all appearances, including price, was the basic Becker Spatburgunder relabeled for the American market. Actually, it was quite nice for a Pinot Noir from anywhere that cost less than $30. Then again, maybe there is a another Becker 'Pinot Noir' that I am not aware of.

Sounds very nice. Do you have much experience with Becker's higher end Pinots? (Seen a few around the US, but the prices are hideous, certainly far more than I'm willing to pay for red wine...)

Salil,

Sadly, No. I have had a couple of the mid-priced wines including a Sonnenberg GG (38€?), but never the 'Pinot Noir' bottling, which may be the most expensive red in Germany (excluding auction wines.) I went through Schweigen a couple of months ago on my way to Straßbourg. Interestingly, Schweigen is on the Alsace border (it is where the Deutches Weintor stands) and a couple of the towns vineyards are still located in France (kind of a Collio, Italy\Slovenia arrangement of sorts.) I'll try to return after the harvest for a proper visit.

Cheers,
Bill

Bill - I just joined this board, and therefore just got to reading this thread now. Anyway, I am wondering if you are by chance confusing Becker's Pinot Noir and Tafelwein bottlings. The Becker Tafelwein is quite expensive in the US (when it is even available), and seems to be something of a cult wine in Germany. On the other hand, I had an 06 Becker wine labeled as 'Pinot Noir' last year at a Rudi Wiest event that, by all appearances, including price, was the basic Becker Spatburgunder relabeled for the American market. Actually, it was quite nice for a Pinot Noir from anywhere that cost less than $30. Then again, maybe there is a another Becker 'Pinot Noir' that I am not aware of.

Hi Andrew,

First of all, welcome! It's nice to have another German wine enthusiast here. There are so many now that perhaps a petition should be started to rename this site the German Wine Lovers Discussion Group.

As for the Becker, no confusion. The Tafelwein and the 'Pinot Noir' are one in the same. If I understand it correctly the declassification to Tafelwein is done because 'Pinot Noir' is not recognized by the authorities here and because the wine is indeed grown on French soil -a jab at how ridiculous it is that a legally defined wine region (the Pfalz) could exist partially in another country (France) while one cannot use the others nomenclature for the grape variety. I can't speak about the wine destined for the US as I have never encountered a bottle of Becker there, though I think that it would be a very smart move to re-label and I certainly wouldn't be surprised if that were being done (although a side effect is the trouble that it's causing us!)



The image isn't great but that's

Pinot Noir
Deutscher Tafelwein Rhein
Weingut Friedrich Becker

And the price is ridiculous
http://www.preisroboter.de/ergebnis10793989.html

How about we split a bottle?

Cheers,

Bill

Hi Bill -

Thanks for the welcome and the info. I forgot that the Tafelwein also had the words "Pinot Noir" on the bottle. Quite an expensive bottle, for sure - let us know if you get to try one sometime.

Anyway, I have only had the one entry-level Becker that I mentioned, which was from 2006. Your note on the 2008 is pretty similar to my impression of that wine - pure, elegant, not too complex, but certainly a nice wine.