Laumersheimer Grauburgunder (2)

Philipp Kuhn and the Knipsers. Both run stellar wineries in the same village, in a part of the Nordpfalz with an abundance of chalk soil under foot.* Great for Pinots and Riesling. Not bad either for a multitude of other weird and wonderful grape varietals. Both producers are revered throughout the land, although the Knipsers probably had a head-start in the celebrity stakes. I tasted Kuhn's 2011 Grauburgunder last November. Here's its counterpart now from across the road.

Weingut Knipser, Grauburgunder trocken 2011, Pfalz, Germany
Straw with beige hints (a tautology if there ever was one!). Initially, a touch of ginger spice on the nose with a hint of minerals. Yellow apple then takes over and dominates proceedings, continuing into the second day, albeit with a blossomy note thrown in. Grapey on entry, then quite tart/bitter in the middle and on the finish, to the point of being cranky. Thankfully, this funk has dissipated 24 hours later. What still remains is yellow apple. Were it not for its smoky Pinot Gris finish, I might mistake this for a Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc). The juice itself is light to medium in body. The finish has improved on the second day, but is middling at best. Merely from memory, I would place Kuhn's effort slightly above. But this is not to belittle the Knipsers' version - we're really talking about nuances here and there.

* Of course, I say something like that, then realise half an hour later that Kuhn's Grauburgunder was grown on loess...