2009 Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) “Vom Kalksteinfels,” Weingut Philipp Kuhn ($28)
“Perhaps the greatest Pinot Noir from Germany I have ever tasted! Big and purple, with explosive amounts of Pinot-like red fruits: cherries, plums, plus hints of mineral and chocolate. It has Burgundy grand Cru weight, but with the crisp mark of a cool climate wine all over it. Voluptuous, round finish. My favorite match is with long-cooked meat: stews, braises, oven roasts that go beyond medium-rare.”
-David Rosengarten
The “rock star” of my portfolio is Philipp Kuhn, who took over his family’s centuries-old winery in 1992. Just 40 years old, Philipp is a famous face in German wine media and a frequent recipient of “best of the best” awards. I am lucky to be his importer! The winery is in the Pfalz, that remarkable German region with more sun than the Mosel and the Rheingau. Pfalz wines are richer, sometimes fatter—but the best producers, like Kuhn, keep a properly Germanic delicacy inside the larger Pfalz frame. Kuhn makes crystalline Rieslings of outstanding concentration and cut, that are delicious in youth but last for years in the cellar.