2012 Bernhard Huber Wildenstein Reserve Pinot Noir Grosses Gewächs

Bernhard Huber

Germany / Baden / Bernhard Huber

The name means "Wild Stone", and the site is distinguished by small terraces, some of which have ancient, dry stone walls. Pinot Noir was brought here 700 years ago by Cistercian monks from Burgundy. The soil is reddish from iron deposits with some very rocky ground, forcing the vines to root deeply and providing useful trace elements and minerals which are reflected in the wines. The planting density is between 5,000 and 10,000 vines/ha. This deeply mineral, finely structured wine is the greatest expression of Pinot Noir from Huber, and has the greatest aging potential.

September, 2014

Michael Schmidt

jancisrobinson.com

19/20

Medium depth raspberry hue with pink-purple rim. Call it Muschelkalk, coquina or shell limestone, and other vineyards have this terroir too, but not many contain as much iron as the Wildenstein plot. I would not claim that it leaves grit between your teeth, but certainly exhibits a medicinal minerality very different from the slate of the Ahr or the red withered sandstone of Fürst’s Hundsrück. It combines smoky, salty, fruity, juicy and savoury components in a perfection that defies description. We do need to mention the use of oak; it has been mastered at the estate decades ago and is delivered in subtle doses which do not disturb the equilibrium of the wine. A must for those Pinot Noir lovers who can afford it.

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About Bernhard Huber

The Huber winery is located in Malterdingen in the winegrowing region of Baden in the foothills of the Black Forest mountains in Germany’s deep south west. Pinot Noir has been cultivated in the village for well over 700 years, having been brought there from Burgundy by the Cistercian monks. About two-thirds of the 25 ha estate is given over to Pinot Noir, and from these vines Bernhard Huber made scintillating wines right up to his death from illness in June 2014. This gracious gentleman had taken pointers in the early days from his great friend Jacques Seysses at Domaine Dujac but never tried to make his Pinots taste like Burgundy, instead drawing on those ideas to express the sites around Malterdingen and surrounding villages. I was lucky enough to visit Bernhard on three or four occasions over the last five years and every time came away more and more convinced that these are world-class Pinots by any measure. Winemaking responsibilities have passed to Bernhard’s son Julian, who’s inherited his father’s passion for Baden and dedication to quality.

About

Julian Huber grew up among the vines in Malterdingen, an apprentice to the "wizard of German Pinot Noir", as Jancis Robinson's German specialist Michael Schmidt referred to Julian's father, Bernhard. Julian studied winemaking at the world-famous institute at Geisenheim in the Rheingau. He returned from his final year there to work Bernhard’s final vintage in 2013. Since Bernhard's death in 2014, Julian's taken up the winemaking mantle with aplomb, displaying the same humble energy and vision for which his father was rightly admired.