WTN with bonus rant and then redemption: German Pinot Gris

2010 Theo Minges Grauburgunder Kabinett Trocken –Pfalz, Germany 11,5% alc.

If you own a winery in the Südpfalz, it is almost unimaginable not to produce Pinot Gris (always dry), and often (without warrant imo), there are a couple of bottlings (Kabinett and Spätlese, which almost always means Spätlese and Auslese). Our proximity to Alsace means that there are historical ties to the grape, but I really wish that more of the wines were better.

Sometimes I like them just fine, but if I’m not drinking Riesling or Silvaner, I’m usually drinking Weißburgunder (Pinot Blanc) which I just find a lot more to my tastes than Pinot Gris. It also disturbs me that many of the producers here (meaning Germany in general, not just the Pfalz) seem to insist on fermenting Pinot Gris in new oak which blurs just about everything that I prize about Pinot Gris. If you must make new oak-raised white wine, make it Chardonnay for fucksake. Even Dönnhoff does Grauburgunder in new oak. That just ain’t right. More discomforting still is that some folks use oak chips (toasted sawdust) to add body and complexity to a grape that if grown right, doesn’t need the face-paint.

Enter our hero Theo Minges. Almost everything that is coming out of this property is phenomenal at every level of quality. The wines seem to get more old-school with every vintage, but they never lose clarity and focus, and they are always both interesting and delicious.

This Grauburgunder is again the puzzle-piece that fits between the Gris and the Grigio of Alsace and Italy. It has a bit more body, chewy mineral, Riesling-like acidity (if not for the mint and almond I might have guessed Riesling blind –in 2010 it just feels like Riesling); there is sweet leesiness, Pineapple and pear fruit and subtle floral aromas and no oak. It was a very nice accompaniment to the Coq au Riesling that we made for supper (using Eugen Müller Riesling Trocken from the Liter –also not bad.)

Cheers,
Bill

I had some late 90s Grauburgunder from Keller, which I liked a lot (they disappeared fast) and which I don't recall as oaky. Much less overblown than most Alsatian and more interesting than most Italian.

Hi Bill -

Thank you for the note. My experience with German Pinot Gris is quite limited, and I have not seen Minges' version yet. I do remember liking the 2007 Dr. Heger Ihringer Winklerberg Grauburgunder Spätlese Trocken, however.

Something that I have wondered, which you should be able to answer better than anyone else here: Why does the VDP not consider Pinot Gris to be a "noble" variety in the Pfalz? It seems like the opposite of Alsace, where Pinot Blanc is considered a second class grape. I'm guessing that it has something to do with differences in climate and ripeness?

Hi Bill -

Thank you for the note. My experience with German Pinot Gris is quite limited, and I have not seen Minges' version yet. I do remember liking the 2007 Dr. Heger Ihringer Winklerberg Grauburgunder Spätlese Trocken, however.

Something that I have wondered, which you should be able to answer better than anyone else here: Why does the VDP not consider Pinot Gris to be a "noble" variety in the Pfalz? It seems like the opposite of Alsace, where Pinot Blanc is considered a second class grape. I'm guessing that it has something to do with differences in climate and ripeness?

Hi Andrew,

I think what you are asking is why isn't Grauburgunder allowed as a Großes Gewächs in the Pfalz and I think that the correct answer is because few of the best vineyards in the Pfalz have Grauburgunder planted in them –most of it is planted in deeper, higher-yielding vineyards because higher-cropped Pinot Gris still gets freakishly ripe (Weißburgunder ripens later than Grauburgunder and doesn’t taste like anything when it is over-cropped. Much of its bad reputation has to do with that fact.) That the VDP-Pfalz members have a stronger history with Weißburgunder –specifically those in the Süd-Pfalz where the higher percentage of chalks, limestone, and clay make very fine, very mineral Weißburgunder wines- is likely a factor. I don't think anyone denys that Grauburgunder is a noble variety (much like they don't deny that Gewürztraminer is one -talk about a misunderstood grape!). There just happens to be very little great Pfäzer Grauburgunder.

Cheers,
Bill

Hi Andrew,

I think what you are asking is why isn't Grauburgunder allowed as a Großes Gewächs in the Pfalz and I think that the correct answer is because few of the best vineyards in the Pfalz have Grauburgunder planted in them –most of it is planted in deeper, higher-yielding vineyards because higher-cropped Pinot Gris still gets freakishly ripe (Weißburgunder ripens later than Grauburgunder and doesn’t taste like anything when it is over-cropped. Much of its bad reputation has to do with that fact.) That the VDP-Pfalz members have a stronger history with Weißburgunder –specifically those in the Süd-Pfalz where the higher percentage of chalks, limestone, and clay make very fine, very mineral Weißburgunder wines- is likely a factor. I don't think anyone denys that Grauburgunder is a noble variety (much like they don't deny that Gewürztraminer is one -talk about a misunderstood grape!). There just happens to be very little great Pfäzer Grauburgunder.

Cheers,
Bill

Hi Bill -

Thank you for the insights. You are correct that I was essentially asking about why there is no Großes Gewächs Grauburgunder in the Pfalz.

Anyway, I did not realize how much of a history Weißburgunder had in the Southern Pfalz - my sense was that it was a grape that did not really become widely planted there until the increased fashion for Trockens in the 1980s and especially the 1990s.

Yes, and the vast majority of the Weißburgunder plantings are even newer than that, but then the history of VDP estates in the Südpfalz is a pretty recent one. I don't know for sure when Rebholz got on board, but it wouldn't surprise me to find out that it was the late 70s or 1980s. Anyway, Weißburgunder has surely been planted here for a long time. Alsace is very close and before WW2 the Geilweilerhof was using it in crossings, so it would be reasonable to assume that it had a decent presence and that they were very familiar with it, but who knows? WWIW, the grape used to be known as Klevner.

It is looking like some very delicious WB has/will have been produced in 2011!

Cheers,
Bill