Siener's Spätburgunder

Part of the embossed "S" on the label

Peter Siener came across as a genial, friendly character during the short chat I had with him about a year ago at a fair in Zurich while tasting through a brief cross-section of his wines. What also struck me was how approachable his Pinot Noirs were. I mean approachable yet serious. Recently, I finally got round to buying a bottle of his estate bottling.

Weingut Siener, Spätburgunder No. 1 trocken 2009, Pfalz, Germany
Light ruby in appearance. An interesting, pungent nose that, despite the ripe vintage, still has a quite appealing minty, greenish note. This characteristic may or may not be a result of keeping the stalks on the grapes during pressing, or it may be something imparted by the oak vats. In any case, I actually like it because it still smells ripe. What I also appreciate is the delicate whiff of raspberry.

Aromatic raspberry continues on the palate, then evolving into something lighter, sappier yet drier. There's also a soupçon of vanilla, but really only a soupçon. In the mouth, the wine is straightforward yet elegantly dancing. Both tasty and comforting, though the flavours remain refined as opposed to overly jammy or in-your-face. An altogether fun wine - which, at Gutswein (estate wine) level, is more or less how it should be, in my view.