Baden, the home of natural hot springs, luxurious spas, and… world-class Pinot Noir? Alex Götze and Christoph Wolber, two Germans bitten by the “Burgundy Bug,” followed their hearts to Beaune, where they met. The two youths garnered quite a resume in Burgundy, working for multiple famed houses across the Cote. Soon, Alex and Christoph returned to Baden and started producing wines of uncommon lightness and clarity, a finesse that embarrasses just about all other German Pinot Noirs (and some Burgundies).

Wasenhaus

Christoph Wolber and Alexander Götze met in Burgundy while getting their enology education at the local school in Beaune. At the same time, they both worked full-time jobs between some of Burgundy’s top biodynamic estates: Alex has spent nearly a decade between Pierre Morey and De Montille, where he is currently the vineyard manager, and Christoph had some years at Leflaive, Bernhard van Berg, Domaine de la Vougeraie and Comte Armand. Shortly after they became roommates, they hatched a plan to return to Germany and start a new project in Baden. This wine region sits on the east side of the Rhine Graben, across from and within sight of the Alsatian wine region, all in a valley that separates Germany’s Black Forest from France’s Vosges mountains.

It is difficult to imagine in a blind tasting that their Pinot Noir wines are German — no surprise considering their extensive apprenticeships in the world’s most extraordinary Pinot Noir-producing region. Their top Pinot Noir, Bellen, would be difficult to place anywhere besides Burgundy, at least for anyone less experienced with Burgundy wines.

Their first vintage was 2016, and it was an incredible start. The style is as lifted and charming as it is profound. There are no tricks here, just a reverence for their fruit and solid know-how in the cellar and vineyards. Their wines are crafted with clear intention; there’s no way anyone could achieve their level of quality in the first go-round by accident.

They are soft on extraction with very few punch-downs during the fermentation, with only the occasional movement of the cap, primarily by hand, to ensure a healthy beginning. Sulfur is used judiciously (no more than 30-50 parts per million) and not applied until after malolactic conversion. Their theory on the timing of the first sulfur addition is that the tannins would be more smoothly integrated than with additions beforehand, especially when whole cluster fermentations are involved. (When it’s added during the vinification period — including primary and malolactic — the wine has more time to define itself clearly, while those that have earlier additions before fermentation potentially maintain harder tannins that could take much longer to evolve in the bottle, it leaves some of the best potential moments of the wine’s life subordinate to a potentially overbearing tannic structure). The wines are all aged in oak barrels, but it’s too early to say what their practice will be from one vintage to the next concerning the amount of new oak — they are still discovering what works.

Burgundian monks were the first to bring the grapevines to the area. Still, the vines have adapted to their climate and soil types, which make them quite different than Burgundy, despite how surprisingly similar the Wasenhaus wines are to some from the Côte d’Or. However, one challenge to grape selection in this highly industrialized area is that many ancient clones were replaced in the 1960s and 70s by easy-to-manage clonal selections that produce good yields and are more easily worked by machines. One of the tasks (and adventures) of Wasenhaus is to (re)discover vineyards within Baden with good clonal material and recoup a resemblance to the historic voice of Pinot Noir in Baden.

To say that Frank Cornellisen is in touch with nature is an understatement. It is his entire ethos and purpose of being. The success of his Susucaru wines is both a blessing and a curse. The wines are fine... but I often see Munjebel just sitting there on shelves collecting dust while hoards of Hipters are walking off with the "Susu". Frank's Munjebel cuvées are full of character, detail and haunting complex notes with a massive range. Even the basic "Rosso" (a blend of all Crus) offers a beautiful alpine snapshot of volcanic Contradas. Delicate, refined red fruit, dried rose petals & volcanic rock dominate these wines in a way that is quite direct, yet offers time for contemplation. These wines have silky structures with a bit of wildness that is in perfect balance. They are pleasantly primary at first but with air, they evolve into magically framed, finessed wines that offer ultimate enjoyment.

Azienda Agricola Frank Cornelissen

Though not a native Italian, the Belgian-born Cornelissen has lived around wine his entire life, growing up the son of an importer. Nearly 25 years ago, Frank invested in a vineyard high on the daunting slopes of Mount Etna in Sicily, starting with a mere 0.4 hectares of vines.

Now the proud owner of 19 hectares, the Cornelissen label has come to be known as a seal of not only quality, but impressively individual wines. While the early years brought wines of intense minrerality and acidity, Frank has grown along with his vineyards, learning through smart viticulture how to imbue more depth and richness into the wines that will always possess the clear minerality of such extreme sites.

Working with the indigenous grapes of Etna, such as Nerello Mascalese, can be daunting for many; many of the vineyards atop the mountain were planted with clones that would allow for impressive yields in place of high quality. Frank has used great clones, many un-grafted vines as well, to achieve the great quality he eternally pursues.

Stylistically, the wines are undoubtedly full of personality; he has separated his wines into "Grand Crus" and "Premier Crus," but will largely treat them the same, the difference being the vine material and quality of fruit. Grapes are de-stemmed and lightly crushed, and there will usually be some skin contact for all wines, whites included. Mascalese benefits from longer contact with the skins, usually around 50 days. The wines will ferment with native yeasts in large (1500-2500 L ) epoxy-lined tanks where they will age for 18 months. The wines will be bottled and again age in bottle for around 18 months before release. This does not account for the Perpetuum, which is a multi-vintage blend crafted as a perpetual reserve, or solera-style, dating back to the 2015 vintage.

Frank considers the Munjebel VA to be the most "Burgundian" in character - think of Nerello Mascalese as a bridge of sorts between Pinot and Nebbiolo - whereas the Munjebel CR is the most intense, structured version more in line with the grape's Nebbiolo character.

Founded near the turn of the 20th century, the unassuming bottles from Domaine Gour de Chaule offer incredible quality and consistency in Gigondas. Three generations of matrilineal leadership have seen the domaine transition to estate bottling, sustainable agriculture, and one of the best reputations in the appellation.

Domaine Gour de Chaule

Founded in the year 1900 by Eugene Bonfils, Domaine Gour de Chaule is one of the historic properties in Gigondas whose history predates the appellation itself. It wasn’t until the 1970s that the domaine began bottling small quantities of wine for private clients. Eugene’s granddaughter, Aline Bonfils, made significant changes during the 1980s, moving the winery towards bottling their entire production. Stephanie Fumoso and her son Paul are the current generation and are building on the domaine’s already established reputation.

The domaine is comprised of fifteen hectares, with ten planted within the appellation of Gigondas and the other five in neighboring communes. A vast majority of the vines are planted to Grenache, supplemented by Mourvedre, Syrah, and Cinsault. In addition to a variety of reds produced under the Gigondas AOP, the winery produces a Cotes du Rhone from their holdings in Vacqueyras and Violes, along with a Gigondas Rose.

All the reds at Domaine Gour de Chaule are fermented whole cluster, and elevage for the Gigondas bottlings is done in large foudres for approximately eighteen months. Stephanie and Paul have also recently started bottling two individual parcels from old ungrafted vines under the names La Numero Huit and Le Gour.