Forstberg Spätburgunder Grosses Gewächs

Score

92

Score

98

"The greatest pinot noir ever made in the underrated region of Wurttemberg! A whole bouquet of violets on the nose, and behind that a wealth of red beets, gunpowder and wet earth. Terrific concentration on the super-focused, but only medium-bodied palate. Off-the-scale racy energy at the almost endless finish suggests this sleek masterpiece has decades of life ahead of it. From a high-altitude site that was forgotten until Christian Dautel started making wine from it. Drinkable now, but best from 2025."

Score

92

"Dautel's 2020 Spätburgunder Oberstenfeld Forstberg VDP.Grosse Lage is deep, intense and refined on the elegant nose that is reminiscent of ripe, dark berries, toast, smoke and earthy notes. Full-bodied, intense and juicy on the palate, this is a generous, dense and refined red wine with a tight, saline and youthful finish. This is a promising Pinot Noir from a sandstone terroir. 13% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted in March 2024."

Score

93

"Very flinty and earthy, this impressive German pinot noir is still pretty closed. The red berry and wild herb aromas open up as it aerates in the glass. Sleek and tense on the medium-bodied palate. The fine tannins provide warmth and length that the chalky complexity underlines in the long finish. Drinkable now, but best from 2026."

Score

94

"Generously ripe, fleshy, spicy and intense, with an iodine undertone, the 2021 Spätburgunder Oberstenfeld Forstberg VDP.Grosse Lage seems more intense and generous in its ripeness than the Schupen, because it is deep, fresh and spicy, even peppery on the nose. Silky, elegant and fresh, with finesse and generosity of texture, this is a fruit-forward, quite powerful, concentrated and tense, more austere rather than sweet Pinot with a mouthwatering saline finish. It has good substance and length. Tasted at the Vorpremiere VDP.Grosses Gewächs in Wiesbaden in August 2024."