WTN: 2014 Simon Huber Spätburgunder Baden

Picked this up earlier this year while visiting the Black Forest. Simon is a young vintner who was located just up the road from where I was staying in Gengenbach. This region is the Ortenau, which is near Baden-Baden, north of the prime region for Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir), the more southerly Kaiserstuhl. The vines here are quite young and Simon thinks the best wines from the region are the Rieslings, and he did make a nice one (as were his other whites). But I wanted to pick up at least one Baden PN, and this was a worthy example. Towards the light side, in color and body, it is still very clearly PN. Fragrant and bright, with cherry and cranberry notes, this is a great summer food wine. There was a more heavily oaked reserve wine, but I like this better. It would be interesting to taste the '15 wines this producer, given the overall outstanding quality of this vintage in Germany. Maybe not as profound as some other Baden pinots, like Dr. Heger's, this wine is certainly worth the price - US equivalent of about $15.

Lovely Joe. I know the area quite well as my stepfather is from close to Freiburg, small village Haslach.
The first time I tasted a Spatburgunder there I was blown away. The server said I could buy some bottles from the restaurant but I had enough to bring home already. Bad move!

There was a more heavily oaked reserve wine, but I like this better...Maybe not as profound as some other Baden pinots, like Dr. Heger's, this wine is certainly worth the price - US equivalent of about $15.

These entry-level spatburgunders are great for easy drinking and I often find uses for them in Germany (restaurant wines with groups, aperitif, casual party wines). But the math doesn't seem to add up for importing them to the US at reasonable prices.

The only Baden PN I've had multiple experiences with is Enderle and Moll, which I like a lot. But the entry level is $20, the Liason $26, and the single vineyards even more. If I could find something similar to the Basis at $15 I might decide to have a "house wine" after all.

Producers like Huber are quite small so they probably feel no need to get involved in export markets. Producer co-ops were quite common in Baden and might be a good source of everyday PN; Winzergenossenschaft Ihringen springs to mind. Most US wine snobs recoil at the thought of buying wines from co-ops though.

Most US wine snobs recoil at the thought of buying wines from co-ops though.

Produttori del Barbaresco seems pretty well established among the wine geek crew in the US. And a cheaper spatburgunder from a German co-op would not even need the wine geek market, because the low price and easy drinking could appeal to a broader demographic.

Most US wine snobs recoil at the thought of buying wines from co-ops though.

Produttori del Barbaresco seems pretty well established among the wine geek crew in the US. And a cheaper spatburgunder from a German co-op would not even need the wine geek market, because the low price and easy drinking could appeal to a broader demographic.

Agreed. As a certified snob, I love Produttori, and like Domane Wachau as well. I also occasionally buy wines from La Chablisienne or Nicolas Feuillatte if priced especially well. I've also enjoyed wines from the Aoste co-op, Martin Codax, and KVW (but don't usually seek out). I don't think in the $15 and under market co-ops are at all disadvantaged.

I appreciate what you are saying about co-ops like Produttori, et.al.: these are producers with an established reputation for high quality. But I can't see US importers showing much interest in PN from obscure Baden co-ops. It seems like a niche that would be a hard sell. Even many Germans I met were not convinced there were any domestic reds worth drinking.