WTN: Knipser 'Gaudenz'

2007 Knipser ‚Gaudenz‘ –Pfalz, Germany 13% alc.

Cabernet Sauvignon u. Dornfelder among others. Interesting as I find that I hate Dornfelder as a stand-alone variety, but here it is with Cabernet Sauvignon again in a cuvee (not unlike a recent Philipp Kuhn ‘Incognito’ also from Laumersheim). What the dark berried dornfelder does here is lengthen the fruit of the Cabernet without detracting from the tannins and structure (A good trick as most dornfelder tastes basically like hollowed-out, spineless, and fruity Cabernet.) Besides the blackberry and black johannisbeeren, there is coffee, cocoa, and rusty, dusty tannin. Despite its easy-drinking, fruity nature, it also captures a little cooler-climate elegance.

This is a tasty wine that inexplicably shows the better side of a grape that I normally despise. Very good qualitatively and much more versatile at the table verses many of the red-blend cuvees that CA is producing.

Cheers,
Bill

[David M. Bueker]

Hmm...I enjoy Dornfelder now and again for something different. Cabernet tends to dominate any blend it is in, so likely masks most of the varietal character of the Dornfelder.

Hmmmmm...why would they take a perfectly good grape like Dornfelder and ruin it with Cabernet, Bill??
Jeez...what next...Merlot??

I've had a couple of good/decent/interesting Dornfelders from Germany. Nothing that knocked my socks off, though.
On the other hand, the Dornfelder from HuberVnyds in the StaRitaHills of SantaBarbaraCnty....that's something to crow about.
Tom

Dornfelder was developed at a time (1955) when German producers were chasing the holy-grail of a red wine that would give lots of color, ripen easily, give high yields and be relatively disease resistant -it has very large, very loose clusters that provide good protection v. Botrytis, but it is not especially safe against Oidium and Peronospora (Downey Mildew). Basically, it lives up to its billing. It is a very easy vine to cultivate hence its popularity. But I have yet to find a single example of Dornfelder that gives any character whatsoever. Believe me I’ve looked. I’ve tried to like a few. I’ve come close to convincing myself that a couple were pretty good. All lies. I cannot get past the fact that there is absolutely no middle to any of the wines and I hate that the stuff doesn’t deliver on flavor like it does on color -the shit is inky purple yet has the flavor intensity of a bad rose with no acidity. Any producer with an eye on quality has an arsenal of better red wine grapes to choose from. Dornfelder is a cash-crop for the lazy (would you believe that it brings in more money than Pinot Noir on the bulk market?) Thankfully, it is finally on the decline.

You probably won’t find many bigger proponents of off-beat Germanic red wines than I (I honestly like Portugieser when it is done right and that grape is generally held in lower esteem than Dornfelder –mostly because it isn’t as resistant to disease, has higher acidity and is more difficult to bring in clean, which is why so much of it is made into Halbtrocken Rose. And Trollinger can be outrageously delicious.) But I just cannot warm up to Dornfelder.

But maybe I still haven’t tried the right one. I am curious about which German Dornfelders you fellows like as I absolutely hold both of your tastes in wine in very high regard.

[quote="TomHill"]Hmmmmm...why would they take a perfectly good grape like Dornfelder and ruin it with Cabernet, Bill??
Jeez...what next...Merlot??

Knipser does make excellent Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux Blends (Cuvee X), and I suspect that the Cabernet from the Gaudenz is the stuff that didn't make the cut for those spendy bottlings.

Cheers,
Bill