Anne Krebiehl for The Drinks Business Hong Kong ... - AnneInVino

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54-58 German PinotTSgs_Layout 1 30/01/2013 20:16 Page 57 terrific standing,” says Nigel Blundell, at UK importer ABS Wine Agencies. Iris Ellmann, managing director of Wine Barn, a UK-based German specialist, says: “Whenever we show Spätburgunder, clients are overwhelmed and not afraid to spend £50 [HK$624] on a bottle.” In her experience, Spätburgunder finds favour There are some amazingly good quality wines, easily comparable to Burgundies, but not necessarily at such high prices with younger collectors of Burgundy and Bordeaux. “This is exciting because these people know their wines, have fantastic cellars but want to try something new that is not just a trend,” she explains. Even blue-chip UK vintners Berry Brothers & Rudd have added three Spätburgunders to their list. German buyer David Berry Green is cautious: “We are looking to reflect what’s going on in the fine wine market without overcommitting ourselves at this stage.” His doubts concern pricing, but he concedes: “People who are really passionate about Pinot Noir will be interested in what Germany is doing; when they see the prices they’ll take a deep breath.” London Burgundy specialists Goedhuis & Co earlier this year offered and sold out their first Spätburgunder parcel. “We’ve been exposed to really lovely top-end single vineyard Riesling,” recounts Julian Chamberlen, sales director, “and along comes something that is very close to our hearts in the form of Pinot Noir that was incredibly impressive.” After a good review from Jancis Robinson MW in summer 2012, Pech’s tiny allocation of “garagiste” Spätburgunder from Enderle & Moll was completely oversubscribed. Ahr Valley vineyards GENUINE ALTERNATIVE For Gareth Birchley, buyer at Bordeaux Index in London, which recently took on Spätburgunder, reactions have been “pretty good, people are very keen to try and those who have tried have been incredibly impressed”. He sees Spätburgunder as a quality alterative to ever more pricey Burgundy. Asian merchants have been thinking along the same lines. Mike Convey, of Abbelio Wines, a Hong Kong online merchant stocking Spätburgunder since early 2012, explains: “We try to find niches for wines which aren’t normally very popular but which we believe are worthwhile.” Of Spätburgunder, he says: “There are some amazingly good quality wines, easily 57
54-58 German PinotTSgs_Layout 1 30/01/2013 20:16 Page 58 german pinot noir comparable to Burgundies, but not necessarily at such high prices. It’s not cheap but that doesn’t mean it’s not good value.” André Kok, managing director of Hong Kong-based McGavin and Kok Fine Wine & Spirits, agrees: “The climate in Hong Kong is changing. It’s only going to take a little time for people to be comfortable with wines from around the world, so we decided to take on German wines. They’ve long been overlooked; Pinot Noir from Germany is probably one of the most underrated wines in the world.” For the time being, though, he observes: “German sales are so focused on Riesling, Pinot Noir still flies under the radar.” 58 Pinot Noir: plantings throughout the world Vineyard Share area (%) (hectares) France 30,659 35.4 US 21,037 24.3 (California, Oregon, Washington) Germany 11,756 13.6 Australia 5,061 5.8 New Zealand 4,828 5.6 Switzerland 4,352 5.0 Italy 3,300 3.8 Chile 2,130 2.5 Argentina 1.681 1.9 South Africa 962 1.1 Austria 649 0.8 Luxembourg 102 0.1 TOTAL 86,517 100 Source: Deutscher Wein Statistik 2012/2013 – German Wine Institute, Mainz German wines have long been overlooked; Pinot Noir from Germany is probably one of the most underrated wines in the world The US picture is similar. Rudi Wiest, veteran importer and founder of Rudi Wiest Selections, thinks that many merchants don‘t even know how good Spätburgunder wines are. The progress of the last 10 to 15 years has been incredible.” He supplies, among others, Crush Wine Co in New York City, which has been selling Spätburgunder since 2007. Buyer Joe Salamone says Spätburgunder appeals to Riesling lovers and those “experienced with Burgundy”. He explains: “They look at adding another small dimension to a collection, but their primary focus is elsewhere.” Nonetheless, Salamone is convinced that “Spätburgunders have a very high level of quality and have something to say about Pinot Noir”. HARD TO GET HOLD OF Among the drawbacks – apart from the prices – for top German Pinots is their limited availability. There is no enprimeur mechanism but a strong tradition of direct-to-client ex-cellar sales. Many top wines thus disappear straight into the cellars of German collectors. The VDP, Germany’s association of top wine estates, states a direct sales ratio of 50% among its members. However, Pascal Dautel, of DeutschweinClassics, the German-wine-division of giant distributor WeinWolf, reckons that the ratio is usually 40-70%, with 20-30% earmarked for German merchant distribution, which leaves only a tiny amount for export. Steffen Christmann, chairman of the VDP, is certain that direct-toclient sales will decrease while export becomes more important. The much-cursed impenetrability of German labelling has been addressed: most Spätburgunder labels are clear-cut and often proclaim “Pinot Noir”. Neither have the top wines attracted American-style scores. Unger thinks “scores are a tool and Germany still has to catch up on that”. Ellmann believes Parker ratings would really help. However, most of the top Pinot producers are VDP members and can thus benefit from the VDP’s own stringent “Grosses Gewächs” (GG) classification. GG set a new standard for Riesling and as recently as 2003 the first Spätburgunder GGs of the 2000 vintage came out. For Mauer, this classification has been a “remarkable success story” since it brought “Pinots from very particular single sites into focus”. For Boon Heng, of Wein & Vin in Singapore, the VDP itself is “a seal of quality. When it comes to GG we tell customers that it’s like a grand cru but even stricter: the sites are classified, the wines are tasted by judging panels”. Ellmann pragmatically states: “Even if you don’t know the ins and outs of Germany you can be sure that it’s a top wine.” Wiest echoes this: “The difference between Germany and Burgundy is that you have to pay for a grand cru regardless of quality, in Germany when you buy GG, you get great wine.” Even if top Spätburgunder for now still occupies a niche, with increasing vine age and constantly improving skill, it is set to play a much bigger role in fine wine markets. As an Old World wine, it comes with a whole lot of history and offers intriguing facets of Pinot Noir, from steep Ahr slate, Pfalz limestone, Baden basalt or Franconian sandstone. This of course means that there is no one, overarching Spätburgunder style. For Christmann this is what makes it exciting: “Consumers who move within the very top of Pinot Noir are explicitly looking for such individuality and variety.” The parallels with Burgundy are all too evident: a fragmented producer base, varying styles, vintage variation and limited output. Hence, just as in Burgundy the motto must be caveat emptor: know your producer and give the wines time in the cellar. They age beautifully, even if nobody can yet stage a 30-year-vertical. Two great vintages – an opulent 2009 and a concentrated 2010 – have lifted the lid on what used to be a purely German cult. Now that the secret is out, they won’t be able to keep Spätburgunder to themselves anymore and that elusive Pinot-epiphany will occasionally come with an umlaut. db
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Anne Krebiehl for The Drinks Business Hong Kong ... - AnneInVino

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