- Blue Period
- Rose Period
- African-Influenced Period
- Analytic Cubist Period
- Synthetic Cubist Period
Walter
- Hundsruck
- Centgrafenberg Spatburgunder "J"
- Centgrafenberg Fruhburgunder "J"
2014 Vintage
- The Platonic Ideal of German Pinot Noir
- As Classic a Vintage As I Can Remember
Two Very Different Wines from a Grand Cru Vineyard
- Like Buying 1er Cru Chambolle Noirots and Volnay Champans for Under $46
2014 Josef Walter Spätburgunder "Centgrafenberg J"
- Nose: Citrus Peel, Wet Yet Fresh Leaves
- Crackling Mid Season Cherries
- Cherry Perfume
- Gorgeous Minerality Perfectly Bisects the Fruit
- Hints of Land Confectionary Aromas
- Palate: Terrific Core
- Juicy, Lean, Intense
2014 Josef Walter Frühburgunder "Centgrafenberg J"
- Gorgeous Nose: Unreal Classic Intense Früh Spice
- Violets and Ripe Mid Season Cherries
- Stunning Florality
- Ripe and Rounder than the Spätburgunder "J"
- Palate: Exquisite Fruit and Powerful Concentration
- Huge Tiny Berry Fruit Intensity
- Amazing Inner Mouth Florals
- Stunning Depth
- So Much Material Here
Picasso may be the greatest painter ever to grace this planet. Were it just for Guernica, he would be famous. But his art spanned so many decades and he achieved brilliance in so many distinct styles, he was truly a marvel. I've always been a fan of the Rose and Blue periods, even though I love the cubist Guernica. Visiting a Picasso exhibit is truly one of the great marvels one can experience. It's a chance to experience examples of great artistic movements but all through the eyes of one genius.
Christophe Walter for me, is similar in a sense. I recently offered the 2015 Josef Walter Hundsruck, which is his most dense and mammoth wine. It's from a legendary parcel that is makes some of the most distinctive of all German wines. But like many of the great Burgundian producers, Walter makes wines that cover a range of instantiations of pinot noir. Today, I have two of them. These are two Walter wines that if I could create them in a lab as to what the platonic ideal of a Walter wine could be it would the these two wines today from the absolutely classic vintage that is 2014.
The 2014 Vintage
I love 2014 in Germany for Pinot as it's the most classic vintages I can think of. We started with
They are just brilliant expressions of the Grand Cru Centrgrafenberg and will age gloriously for many years. Pitch perfect everything and not too much. Think 2014 Burgundy. Or 2008 Champagne. Only comparable things I can think of.
First up is the 2014 Josef Walter Spätburgunder "Centgrafenberg J" for $45.99 a bottle on a 4-pack. This is a truly brilliant bottle of Spätburgunder. It is the wine right below Hundsrück in the Walter hierarchy. 2014 is gorgeous at Walter. A cooler vintage you really get a sense of the Centrgrafenberg right out of the gates.
The nose has citrus peel, wet yet fresh leaves. Mid season cherries that are cracking. Huge cherry perfume. Wow. Gorgeous minerality that bisects the fruit perfectly. Such a great nose. Classic Walter and classic Centrgrafenberg. Hints of licorice and confectionary aromas abound. Nose is super perfumed now.
Palate starts off tight as a drum but boy is it all there. It's got length, freshness, a great core of fruit, incredible length and just so complete. Yes it's 96% closed off the bat but seeing the forest through the trees it is all there. But after 2 hours it really got going. Now the fruit is starting to happen on the palate. Juicy, lean, intense with small berry intensity like nothing else. Such presence and incredibly ripe yet stoney tannins. So so so long. This is so so good. Superb structure. Sappy.
On day 2 even better. Nose of bright mid season cherries and loads of spice. Gorgeous minerality and fresh air. Palate is precise like a laser. Sweet, succulent and sappy and much much more open than yesterday. Gorgeous purity, velvety tannins and freshness. Like 14 red burgs. Crunchy and transparent. So so good.
The Fass Selections Frühburgunder Cult
Frühburgunder is one of my favorite grapes in the world. The name can be intimidating because it's German and it's got an umlaut and not many people know what it is. So for the sake of clarity and understanding it's really just Pinot Noir that ripens three weeks earlier than normal Pinot Noir and is a specialty of the Burgstadt region in Franken, Germany. Christoph Walter is the Frühburgunder whisperer as his version is just completely outrageous. It's a difficult grape to cultivate because of the early harvest date and also it is a favorite of the local wild boars. They have to put a blue netting on the vineyard to protect them once they start ripening. I've sold epic aged versions like 2005 and 2007 and 2009. I've sold the 2010 as well which is from a high acid vintage and will age gloriously. I've sold the 2012 which was priced higher than all the others as Christoph thought it was better than every Frühburgunder he has made. And the epic 2013 which will need a decade But then came the 2014 to blow my mind away and truly show me what a classic young Walter Frühburgunder tastes like.
Up next is the 2014 Josef Walter Frühburgunder "Centgrafenberg J" for $45.99 a 4-pack. If you haven't had Fruhuburgunder, you need to read the sidebar and order some. It's a unique pinot noir experience.Gorgeous nose. I adore Frühburgunder. Adore it. Unreal classic intense Früh spice.
Just penetrating your nose like nothing else. Violets and ripe mid season cherries. Wow. Freshly decaying leaves that smell so good. I have also smelled many decaying leaves in my lifetime. Amazing nose. Just sick. The spice on the nose is at Dune levels after 10 minutes.
Perfume of the gods.
Palate is ripe and rounder than the Spätburgunder "J" with exquisite fruit and powerful concentration. Huge tiny berry fruit intensity and so so detailed and nimble. Ripe and stoney tannins and unreal persistence. Outrageous and most people would say closed. But it's all there. My god this is insane. Fresh and so intense. Amazing inner mouth florals and such painfully intense sweetness. Young and raw but my god there is so much material here and the wine does not quit on the finish. This is a 20 year Frühburgunder. After air. Wow. Epic spice bomb of the gods nose. Just pure perfume now. Palate is getting melty and more opulent. The precision is unreal on this.
After 2 hours there is huge spice and stunning depth. Much more minerality and earthiness now. Floral as all get out. Violets and such purity. What a nose. Palate is sweet, complex and concentrated with terrific inner mouth aromas. Sweet with tiny berry fruit intensify and such amazingly ripe and sweet tannins. Terrific. Love 14 here. Such cut. So long.
2014 Josef Walter Spätburgunder "Centgrafenberg J" - $47.99
($183.96 4-pack) (*Including Tariff of $5.08)
2014 Josef Walter Spätburgunder "Fruhburgunder J" - $47.99
($183.96 4-pack) (*Including Tariff of $5.08)
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