Wöhrwag - Herzogenberg Pinot Noir 2020
We are drinking a bottle of Herzogenberg Pinot Noir from the year 2020 from Weingut Wöhrwag in Württemberg.
Week after week, a group of thirsty men is hustled through the local multi-purpose hall by my better half. And for reasons that escape me completely, they think it’s fantastic. I believe that attendance is primarily encouraged by the one or two half-pints or a wine spritzer afterward, because sport, as we all know, is murder. But what do I know? I’m just the one who gets to stare at the big screen in peace every thursday evening. In any case, the weekly sporting is so well received that this bottle today emerged from the Christmas gift of the thirsty ones. Thanks for that at this point. Also for the fact that today I’m essentially a co-drinker without any athletic activity. Perhaps this post is now also something like advertising for the local sports club. You have been warned and transparently informed.
It’s been nearly two years since we had two bottles of Lemberger from the Herzogenberg from Weingut Wöhrwag on the table. The Herzogenberg is still solely owned by the winery and therefore what is otherwise called a monopole site. The vines stand on gypsum-keuper soil across approximately 20 hectares, and 12.41 hectares of that are classified by the VDP as Grosse Lage. I’m simply trusting the information from the official homepage here. The vines’ view still faces toward the local football temple, even though they’re no longer fighting against relegation there, but for international spots. The Pinot Noir is pressed immediately after fermentation and then gets to slumber in oak barrels for a year and a half before landing in the bottle.
There’s a lot of very spiced cherry in the wine. Though cherry alone doesn’t quite capture it, more like dark chocolate-covered cherries, along with some fresh wood and smoke. The spice also takes a detour toward the tongue. The tannin is still quite drying, creating some fuzziness before being washed away by the juiciness. And once you’ve had the wine in your mouth, the fruit retreats from the nose and gives even more space to the spice. At the same time, each sip tastes more like cherry. The tannins still need a few years’ time, they’re still quite impetuous. On the other hand, there’s enough juicy fruit to stand up against it, so that with more years it probably won’t get better, just different. I actually like when wine is a bit stubborn. Too much harmony is nice but often boring too.
The Pinot then disappears into the refrigerator for two nights anyway. We were cutting trees in the meadow, slept away from home, and actually simply forgot the wine at home between tree-cutting-refreshment-champagne and Kabinett. These things happen.
The wine wasn’t harmed, as even two nights in the refrigerator didn’t contribute much change. It’s still really young. The spice has now completely taken over the nose, and you have to search intensively for fruit or chocolate. In contrast to the smell, something has happened with the taste. The robust tannin is less robust, the cherry more cherry-like, and behind the cherry trails a bouquet of spices. Plum compote, fresh plum, blackberry, and a bit of Christmas appear. It still doesn’t come across as charming. That doesn’t change the fact that the wine is really good, but if you want to be embraced, you’re in the wrong place right now. But that might look quite different in a few years. If we had a second bottle, I would very much look forward to it. But what isn’t yet can still become. In any case, the co-drinker continues to hustle thirsty people through the multi-purpose hall.