2012 Huber Sommerhalde Pinot Noir Grosses Gewächs

Bernhard Huber

Germany / Baden / Bernhard Huber

Situated on the eastern edge of the Breisgau vineyards, the Sommerhalde vineyard lies next to the Black Forest. It's a southeast-facing site with reddish ferruginous soil streaked with veins of shell limestone, with very good water-holding capacity. Sommerhalde covers 40 hectares, of which Huber owns 2.15 ha, all of which are classified Grosses Gewächs. It sits at an altitude of 240-300m above sea level and has a slope of between 20% and 50%. Planting density of the old plants is 4,500 vines/ha, while the new plantings are between 7,000 and 9,000 vines/ha. Cool night winds caress the grapes and give them great fruitiness. The south eastern location and the day's first rays of sun dry the grapes very quickly, which is ideal for Pinot Noir. Average yields for Pinot Noir are 30 hl/ha. The vineyard typically gives great fruit with clear, lively hints of dark berries and plenty of minerality.

September, 2014

Michael Schmidt

jancisrobinson.com

18.5/20

Concentrated plum hue with bright purple rim. We have had minerality, fruit and power in Huber’s other three Grosse Gewächse. The Bombacher literally excels in the field, or to be more precise, meadow, with herbs and hay evoking associations of a warm Indian summer. Sweet cherries and mouthwateringly juicy plums deliver plenty of fruit, barriques donate tasteful notes of cloves and cedar, firm tannins and an assertive acidity complete a solid structure. The poor man’s Wildenstein, not so much in taste, but in terms of value for money.

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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.