2019 Baden Blauer Spatburgunder Talrain

Yellow limestone laced with iron and with covered with loess at 500 m above sea level. Vines were planted between 1990 and 2010. Selective hand-harvest, pressing after 6–8 weeks of contact with the must, ageing on the fine lees in large wooden barrels for 12–15 months. Candied violets, wild berry, would be brooding were it not so vibrant and bold. A thrilling roller coaster racing through repeated loops of forest leaves, dark fruit, and cooling spice. Elegant tannins, refined power, and a long stony finish. Still quite young. (PS)

Ziereisen's Blauer Spätburgunder a.k.a. Pinot Noir 2019 Talrain offers a pure, fresh, elegant, intense and slightly flinty-scented bouquet of dark sour cherries, black berries, iron and dark meat, then some fine herbal notes later on. Medium-bodied and fresh yet intense and grippy on the youthful palate, this is rather lean and fresh but fleshy and silky-textured Pinot reveals a serious structure built by fine tannins, ripe acidity and stimulating saline finesse that gives a clear, crisp and nicely bitter finish. Not as generous as the 2018 or as impressive as the 2017, the 2019 shows more of the purity, elegance and freshness of the 2016. I tasted the wine again after 11 days, from the same bottle, and it had even improved. 13% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted from L 24 21 in June 2022.