Weingut Jürgen von der Mark Baden Merdinger Spätburgunder 2022

Light, garnet red color. Seductive, open scent of ripe cherry, raspberry and caramel. Supple and soft in attack. Good filling structure with mild tannin and nice freshness. Elegant style with persistent, slightly spicy aftertaste.

Germany may be best known for its white wines, but the southern German region of Baden has a reputation for beautiful red wines from spätburgunder, or pinot noir. Someone who is an absolute specialist in the field of this grape is Jürgen Von der Mark.

The special thing about Jürgen is that he is not only an oenologist, but also a Master of Wine. This winemaker is very good in terms of both knowledge and experience. On his estate south of Freiburg, near the French and Swiss borders, he makes wines from Burgunder grapes. He divides these into three quality levels: village wines, terroir wines and the so-called 'song wines', named after a number that, in his opinion, matches the very best wines of the relevant harvest year.

This Spätburgunder is one of the village wines and made in a juicy, fruity style. The Pinot grapes come from younger vines from various vineyards in Merdingen. After fermentation, the wine matures for twelve months in used Burgundian barriques. The wine is bottled unfiltered and unfined.

The result is an uncomplicated, tasty, light-footed, slightly spicy Pinot that you will want to keep drinking. It tastes best slightly chilled, just like that, with a platter of charcuterie, but also at the table. And the price? A Burgundy of this level cannot compete with that!