We’ve been saying it for years now: The first place to look for the best value in Pinot Noir is no longer Burgundy, California, or even the Willamette Valley. It’s Germany. That’s where you’ll find wines like Pfeffingen’s stunning Spätburgunder “Alte Reben.” Spicy, smoky, laden with red and black berry fruit in a lush yet tensile body, this is seriously world-class juice for casual Pinot lovers and Grand Cru collectors alike. And it comes in at well under $40. Though most folks think of Riesling first when we talk of German wine, Spätburgunder–as Pinot Noir is known here–is almost as at home in Germany as it is in Burgundy. It’s grown in limestone soils much like in the Côte d’Or, and its history in the Pfalz stretches back over five centuries. Make no mistake, Germany is the new frontier for Pinot Noir lovers, and we couldn’t offer up a better testament to why than Pfeffingen’s stunning bottling. But be warned; the international spotlight is already shifting to Spätburgunder and we’ve no doubt a bottle like this will soon be as spendy as Burgundy. Act fast and go deep!
It’s perhaps no surprise that Germany’s Pfalz has a long history with Pinot Noir. Warmer and with a more gently rolling landscape than northerly regions like the Mosel, the Pfalz directly borders France’s Alsace. It shares many of its climatic conditions. Here the Haardt mountain range protects from inclement weather, just as the Vosges mountains do in Alsace. Not just Pinot Noir, but also Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc thrive in the Pfalz, especially around Weingut Pfeffingen’s home village of Bad Dürkheim. The village benefits from a particularly warm microclimate, and has long garnered international acclaim for its opulent Rieslings. Those same conditions make it ideal for producing fully ripe and complex Spätburgunder.
The Pfeffingen estate is run by Jan and Doris Eymael. Eymaels have farmed these slopes since the 17th century; the mythical unicorn from their medieval family crest adorns the entrance to the estate and their labels. In Bad Dürkheim they’ve got an enviable array of sites spread across seventeen hectares, with topsoils of clayey loam and red sandstone. What underlays all of their Spätburgunder vineyards, though, is limestone. It’s this that marks out both the Côte d’Or and Bad Dürkheim as prime Pinot territory, imbuing the finished wines with a sense of lift and tension to seamlessly balance the ample fruit.
The 2019 Pfeffingen Spätburgunder “Alte Reben” comes from a selection of 30+-year-old vines across their holdings (including their Grosses Gewächs sites). The fruit is meticulously picked by hand, destemmed, and then fermented spontaneously. It aged in mostly neutral barrels for a year, and an additional two or so years after its release, it’s really starting to strut its stuff. The nose wafts from the glass with a melange of black cherry, raspberry liqueur, pomegranate, orange zest, black tea, cedar spice, and forest floor tones. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied, belying its warmer-climate origins, with very fine tannins and juicy acidity keeping everything fresh. It’s drinking wonderfully right now, but we’re certain it’ll reward anyone who wants to sit on a few bottles for the next five years. So be sure to grab plenty for now, and plenty to age!
