The world of German wine is no longer just about Riesling. German Pinot (or Spätburgunder) may just be the best outside of Burgundy. Chardonnay is approaching similar heights, and Pinot Blanc has been sneakily elite for years. What, then, of Pinot Meunier, the last major grape of the Pinot family? Heitlinger’s Pinot Meunier Reserve “Alte Reben” 2018 is a definitive testament to the variety’s splendor in Germany. It’s got all the dense fruit, the spice, the silken structure of elite Pinot Noir with an extra edge of graphite minerality and almost indescribable wild herb tones. It blew us away upon tasting, becoming an immediate companion piece to all of the must-have Spätburgunders we’ve offered over the past few years. Perhaps it shouldn’t have been a surprise: Meunier has thrived in Germany for centuries, just like Pinot Noir, and Heitlinger’s example hails from some of the most celebrated land in the country’s most Pinot-obsessed appellation. This is brilliant stuff, ready to be poured alongside some of the most elite wines in Germany and, yes, even France. Load up!
If you’re on the hunt for top-notch German reds, Baden is the place to start. Of Germany’s 13 appellations, Baden is the southernmost, butting up against the Swiss border. It definitely doesn’t have the international name recognition like the Mosel or Rheingau, but the truth is that before the era of climate change, Baden was basically the only portion of Germany making genuinely great red wine. That’s thanks largely to the subappellation known as the Kraichgau in Baden’s southwest. Here, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier have grown on dramatic hillsides rich with limestone for at least 600 years, the varieties originally brought here by the same Cistercian monks who brought the varieties to Burgundy and Champagne.
Weingut Heitlinger has grown the Pinot Meunier vines for its “Alte Reben” bottling since 1968. They’re located in the Spiegelberg vineyard, one of the estate’s most prized holdings in the Kraichgau. And Baden estates don’t come more pedigreed than Heitlinger. They own a full 80% of the Grosses Gewächs–Germany’s answer to Burgundy’s Grand Cru–sites in Kraichgau. They’re the largest organic estate in the entire country, and are now certified biodynamic. And despite being a larger operation, they turn out some of the most consistently thrilling wines in all of Germany, consistently forward-thinking and boundary-pushing. Meunier frankly has never been thought highly of in Germany, where it’s known more commonly as Schwarzriesling and rendered as a light and spicy quaffer. Heitlinger’s “Alte Reben,” though, is a game changer for the variety.
In 2018, Heitlinger fermented their Pinot Meunier 100% whole cluster before pressing it to old barrels. It then aged for 12 months, and was bottled unfined and unfiltered with just a dash of sulfur. This is elite, hands-off winemaking that really allows the variety and vineyard to shine through. You’ll definitely want to use some big Burgundy bowls to fully appreciate the aromatic range on display here. There’s a whole cornucopia of red and purple fruit–sour cherry, black raspberry, pomegranate, elderberry–backed by sandalwood and cedar spice. An almost Alpine herb quality, pine needles and thyme, float above a chiseled crushed rock minerality. On the palate, it’s tensile and bright, with prominent structure that’s been rounded out by juicy fruit thanks to six years of age. It evokes memories of a supremely elegant Burgundy (Chambolle?) while also feeling distinctly Germanic in its woodsy tones. It is, put simply, some absolutely lights-out red wine from a place and variety that we’re now convinced don’t get enough attention. One taste and you’ll agree!
