Spätburgunders, mainly 2005s

All these wines made from Pinot Noir grown in Germany were tasted at the VDP Grosses Gewächs preview at the end of August 2007 (see my tasting notes on the dry whites). They are mostly from the 2005 vintage, with a few from 2004. With a few exceptions, notably the Rudolf Fürst wines from Franken and Becker’s Sankt Paul, I was generally a bit disappointed, and had expected more from the Ahr, which has long had a reputation for this variety. Many of the wines seemed to have spent too long in oak and looked prematurely aged. For a handful of...