The Maverick of Marbach - Two New Very Important German Pinot Noirs from the Nahe - Andi Schneider's "Grand Cru" Site

Nahe Pinot Noir
 - Not Much Is Made
 - But Marbach Is THE Perfect Vineyard for "Red Riesling" Style Pinot

Andi Schneider
 - Well Known for His Stunningly Balanced (and High Scoring) Rieslings
 - His Balanced, Elegant Style Is Perfect for Pinot Noir
 - Marbach Soils Produce Mineral, Balanced Wines
 - The Pinot Noirs Are from the Best Parcels of Marbach
 - A Vineyard That Has Produced Up to 96 Point Riesling 

2015 K.H. Schneider Marbach Spatburgunder
 - Reminds me of Enderle & Moll Liason: Very Delicate Fruit
 - Nose: Gorgeous Mid Season Cherry Fruit, Spice, Woodland Berry
 - Super Complex and Foresty
 - Palate: Super Elegant and Lithe
 - Fresh, Sappy, Sweet and Delicate Fruit
 - Opulent Mid Season Cherry, Spices. Woodland Berry
 - Lacey, Complex and Nimble
 - Opulent Mouthfeel
 - Superbly Mineral

2015 K.H. Schneider Marbach Spatburgunder "R" 
 - Special Selection: The Best, Smallest Grapes 
 - Like Drinking Young, Traditional 1er Cru or Grand Cru Burgundy
 - Nose: Big Berry, Big Cherry, Forest Floor, Cassis, Spice
 - Serious Aromatic Depth
 - Palate: Lovely and Elegant with Substantial Fruit and Spice
 - Concentrated and Elegant with Great Purity and Freshness
 - At 30 Hours, This Wine Becomes Insane
 - In 3-5 Years This Will Be a Monster
 - For Only $35.99, This Is A Value We Are Only Seeing Because 1) It's Germany, 2) It's Direct from the Winery and 3) It's Andi's First Serious Pinot Noir Vintage
 - We Are Ahead of Even the Germans

A New Spatburgunder Star
It's always exciting to introduce a new Spätburgunder star. It's also even more exciting when this particular Spätburgunder star happens to be one of my top Riesling stars. Yes, that's right, you read that correctly. When I was arranging for my latest batch of samples I asked Andi Schneider to throw in his two 2015 Pinots which I had not tasted before. I had actually never tasted Nahe Pinot Noir before. It's Riesling land usually but as it is getting warmer (Nahe is 45 minutes south of the Mosel), Pinot is being planted more and growers like Tim Frohlich and now Andi Schneider are getting in on the action.

I'll start with the lead. I was utterly blown away by these wines. They are both from the best parcels

in Andi's top Riesling vineyard, the Marbach, which is a Grand Cru level vineyard. Both of these wines blew me away. One is definitely for drinking now while the reserve bottling is something that needs to be laid down for 3-5 years. Both are from the most important German Pinot Noir vintage since 1990 and that is 2015. 

Andi's first Pinot Noir vintage was 2007 but he admitted that he was only focusing onRiesling then and didn't really pay that much attention to Pinot Noir. But now he is paying attention and the quality has taken off.

The soil in Marbach consists of red clay mixed with slate, quartzite and pebble. Because of the richer soil the wines are very structured and more full bodied but the high percentage of stones brings minerality and elegance. Pinot Noir as I said before is very rare in the Nahe.

The Nahe in general does not  have a long Pinot and red wine tradition and Andi's area is in the upper Nahe.  Andi's father was one of the first planting red wine vines at the end of the 70s and 80s. Due to the enormous variety of soils in the Nahe, similar to Rieslings, there is not the "one" Pinot Noir style / character. At Schneider, Andi tries to produce a mineral, elegant cool climate Pinot. Andi is in love with the idea that the idea Pinot Noir is like red Riesling.

The Wines
Up first is the 2015 K.H. Schneider Marbach Spatburgunder for $29.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. This is an extraordinary Pinot Noir. It reminded me of Liaison from Enderle & Moll but was still so unique. It didn't have that specific E and M character but it does have some of the most delicate Pinot fruit you can imagine. It's so texturally impressive and super nimble. The fruit is just captured perfectly. This wine improves greatly with air.

Nose starts off slightly reduced but once coaxed there is gorgeous mid season cherry fruit, spice, woodland berry, burning embers and just gorgeous ephemeral purity. Super complex and foresty. Gorgeous. Really smells like Burgundy with a Nahe twist.

Palate is super elegant and lithe. Super elegant and red Riesling like. Sappy and pure with a wonderful ethereal quality to it. Lovely. Reminds me of a Nahe Liaison. Fresh with wonderful acidity and playfulness. Sappy, sweet and delicate fruit. Great. So delicate yet wonderful energy and super pure cherry fruit on the finish. So well made. On day 2 the nose is opulent mid season cherry. So clean and so pure. Spices. Woodland berry. Woodlands spice. Forest. Palate is lacey, complex and nimble and very red riesling, gorgeous and lithe with such purity and finesse. Opulent mouthfeel and finishes superbly mineral. Lithe and elegant tannins so refined and fine. This is unreal. Just so elegant, pure, balanced and gorgeous. What a wine. You will drink buckets of this stuff.

Next up is the 2015  K.H. Schneider Marbach Spatburgunder "R" for $35.99 a bottle on a 4-pack.  Oh man.  So what do you get if you go into the best part of a Grand Cru vineyard and then specially select grapes from the smallest bunches to make a wine?  You get some miracle ... stuff... is what you get.  I'm going to try and describe a wine that is 3-5 years to young to drink but all I can say is that it's like drinking just released top 1er cru or even Grand Cru Burgundy. 

The special small grape selection is what one wants if one is making a special selection as those grapes give off the most aroma and have the tightest and most concentrated juice.

My notes are after 12 and then 30 hours. What a nose. More youthful than the normal. Big berry, big cherry, forest floor, cassis, spice, just gorgeous and more obviously youthful. But after coaxing there is serious aromatic depth.  The wine is so young and tight that it's like the universe just before the big bang.  You know the density is there - you can get a glimmer, but you know what is coming when it opens up.

Palate is lovely and elegant and has substantial fruit and spice. Even a hit of red licorice. Sweet sappy fruit, velvety and such fine and elegant tannins. Even chewy in the most light way possible. Just ethereal and substantial at the same time. Palate develops with cranberry, some hoisin sauce, and deep cassis that stays with you. Excellent and has life ahead of it.

Now at 30 hours it had a big cherry nose. Lovely spice, forest floor and opulence. Terrific nose. Needed 30 hours to get really insane. Concentrated and elegant with great purity and freshness. Ripe tannins and super juicy. Lovely wine.


This is a briliant wine but will need 3-5 years and once it gets those years it will be better than the regular Marbach Spätburgunder. Today the Marbach is better only because it's wide open.

2015 K.H Schneider Marbach Spatburgunder - $31.99 ($119.96 4-pack) (*Including tariff of $3.01) 

2015 K.H Schneider Marbach Spatburgunder "R" - $37.99 

($143.96 4-pack) (*Including tariff of $3.77)