FFW 2021 Wine Catalogue

Ahr & Baden

GERMANY AHR&BADEN

At Farthinghoe, we are really getting intoGermany’s iterations of Pinot Noir known as Spätburgunder, particularly fromthe Ahr and Baden regions. There are some producers making really serious versions

Producers trained under some of the greats names of Burgundy are at the helmof their estates, with amazing depth of knowledge of their vines allowing themto get the best out of themost alluring grape. In the south-west of Germany alongside the Rhine, with Switzerland bordering to the south, is Germany’s warmest wine region – Baden . Badenhas

of this wonderful grape. Withmost of it stayingwithinGermany, it is almost as hard to lay your hands on top Spätburgunder as it is to get blue chip Burgundy. Thankfully, theGermanwines are a lot easier on the pocket. InGerman, Burgundermeans coming from Burgundy, so they use this tomean any derivative of the Pinot family. Spät– ‘late’ in English – refers to the later ripening grape that Burgundians refer to as Pinot Noir. There are others: Weiss- and Grau- Burgunder (Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris) and another commonly found red thatmakes sumptuous fruitier wine called Frühburgunder. Früh – early – refers to its early ripening character, often in late August. SouthernGerman can often bask in beautifully warmweather allowing Pinot Noir to ripen. The continental climate of westernGermany and its geographical perks – frost-preventing rivers, steep hillsides with perfect southerly aspect, and long dry autumns –means conditions here are now heading into Pinot Noir’s sweet-spot. Allied to the encyclopaedic knowledge of these growers, the rise in quality has been a very sharp upward curve.

long been the home toGermany’s pinot growers, with enoughwarmth for the region to embrace it commercially in the 19thCentury. Wines from Badenwere full-bodied, powerful and brooding. In the last 20-30 years, pioneering producers started tomake elegant Spatburgunder that is turning heads internationally. Look out for Dr. Heger and Bercher’s wines for supreme elegance and depth. The Ahr , at 50.5° latitude (the same as Plymouth andKiev), certainlywelcome thewarmer weather. The steep slopes above the river ward off frost in April after bud break, while the cooling effects of the rivermitigated the excesses of the hottest summer on record. The tiny region’smicroclimate has enabled one of Germany’s top producers to make truly outstandingwine. Meyer-Näkel won the International Trophy for Pinot Noir at the 2008DecanterWorldWine Awards for one of their Spätburgunder GrandCrus, which put it on the map. Malcolm Willatts

CLASSIC GRAPE VARIETALS Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir).

FAVOURITE PRODUCERS Bercher, Meyr-Näkel, Dr Heger and Jean Stodden

AREA UNDER VINE 560 ha (Ahr) 15,836 ha (Baden)

SOIL TYPE Slate and volcanic

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WINE CATALOGUE