Spätburgunder Wunder
Enno Lippold
If you were to go on Justerini & Brooks’ website and look for Germany you could read the following: “Led by the aristocratic Riesling grape, Germany produces some of the world´s finest, most ageworthy wines.” Ok, that sounds familiar, but if you go further down you can read: “In the red corner, the rise and rise of German Spätburgunder continues apace and the best wines are now rightfully respected and desirable as genuinely world class Pinot Noirs.” In German-speaking countries the grape is known as Pinot Noir as well, but there are synonyms like the today mostly used Spät – late – Burgunder to differentiate from the Früh - early - Burgunder. Also Blauburgunder for the blue version of the Pinot family etc.
From 1990 the area under cultivation expanded dramatically due to the demand for quality domestic red wine. In 2010 an area of just under 12.000 ha was reached. Since then the market has remained balanced with good qualities and corresponding prices. In the general statistics, Pinot Noir in Germany occupies 3rd place worldwide for area of planting. With this “red wine miracle” which is hardly known abroad, a handful of ambitious growers have raised the quality of their wines higher and higher, setting an example for thousands of colleagues including a number of progressive cooperatives. All those planting Spätburgunder are aiming to exploit the grape’s unique quality potential.
Foreign attention was first drawn to this red wine phenomenon when Meyer-Näkel’s Pfarrwingert won the 2008 Decanter World Wine Award ahead of the regional firsts from NZ, Chile and France (a 2006 Chambertin from Camille Giroud). It soon became obvious that this was not a single flash in the pan. In an interview in 2021 Jancis Robinson was asked with whom she would like to drink a glass of German wine. Her answer: “I would like to drink a glass of the many great Spätburgunder produced right now with Lalou Bize-Leroy to show her that there is life beyond Burgundy.”
A true cool climate wine serving as the perfect food companion – a Riesling in red!
Enno Lippold was introduced early to the local Riesling from Winningen, lower Mosel, by his wine-loving father and became a lifelong Riesling devotee A former Riesling Ambassador worldwide for the House of Deinhard, Koblenz and London, he came back to Ürzig in 2006 to craft authentic Mosel wines. As one of Germany´s few true parcellaires, he champions old, own rooted vines, red slate, steep slope terroir and long cellar aging in crafting both still and sparkling wines that encapsulate the true expression of the Mosel. Dr. Lippold also grows Spätburgunder in Auerbach, Hessische Bergstrasse on a single parcelle originally owned by the Grand Duke of Hesse.