Moritz Kissinger - Weissburgunder 2020
We drink a bottle of Pinot Blanc from 2020 from Moritz Kissinger.
Expect the unexpected, or something like that. This bottle, at least, should actually spend a bit more time waiting before its cork is popped. However, around the very thin wax capsule, a funny, fuzzy microbiome has formed, extending far beyond what I would still consider as ‘just high humidity.’ And out of fear of a cork that, in addition to allowing oxygen in one direction, also grants wine passage in the opposite direction, it had to yield already. It’s nice when it turns out that the cork is in perfect health. Surely, some organic material, acting as mold growth accelerator, must have gotten under the wax from another source. Since simply putting the cork back in is not an option, the wine must now face the consequences. Twelve rows of Weissburgunder grow next to an old Chardonnay plot at Moritz Kissinger’s. And from these twelve rows, 258 regular-sized bottles and 12 (how fitting) magnums were produced. 2020 is the first vintage of this wine, and Moritz has donated half of the sales of this Peace Edition to Aktion Deutschland Hilft. A fine initiative, and the need has certainly not diminished in the meantime.
As expected, the wine smells correspondingly young on the nose. It is densely packed with a bit of citrus and some yellow stone fruit. A slightly metallic note and, behind that, a touch of floral herbiness. On the palate, we’re already further. Very juicy with a lot of tension and very fresh apple runs along the tongue. There’s really a lot of tension behind it. And with the wine in the mouth, mint comes into the nose, and the apple replaces the metallic note. That’s really good, and a weight is lifted off my chest. Just because the cork looks okay doesn’t mean the wine is okay as well in the slightest. But it was in this case. With air, the wine becomes even tighter and more structured while drinking, at the same time, the fruit becomes softer.
This continues into the second evening. Juicy green apple and slightly salty minerality on the tongue, that same minerality and structure in the nose. There’s not so much fruit there anymore, but that’s not unexpected. Like the other wines from Moritz, this is quite puristic and maybe indeed just one or two years too young. However, we won’t make it to a third evening. The Weissburgunder is simply too juicy, and the glass empties too quickly. I think it seamlessly fits into Moritz’s style. The entry with the Null Ohm already has this cool, tight style, and the Chardonnay above it as well. From memory and with notes on the wines, I would say that, in comparison, the Weissburgunder is finer, somewhat lighter, with less power, but with a touch more elegance. But to be really sure, I would have to try them side by side. Then, however, with more bottle age.