Direct uit Londen bereikt ons het bericht dat Duitsland en niet Frankrijk de beste Pinots Noirs ter wereld produceert. Dat is tenminste de mening van 13 internationaal bekende experts, die de Spätburgunder 2008 Saulheimer Hölle uit Rheinhessen als beste Duitse Pinot Noir aanmerkten. In totaal zaten er zeven Duitse Pinots Noirs in de top Tien. De competitie werd in de Britse hoofdstad georganiseerd door het Duitse Wijn Instituut (DWI).

Onze correspondent bericht:
 

Top positions for German Pinot Noir amoung the world's leading wines

Initiated by the German Wine Institute (DWI), on october 28th 2011, an internationally renowned jury of wine experts tested 20 international Pinot Noirs in London. The result of this blind tasting: Seven out of the world's Top-10 Pinot Noirs are German.
The best German Pinot Noir in this contest is the 2008 Spätburgunder, Saulheimer Hölle, from the Thörle estate, located in Saulheim, Rheinhessen (rank 3).
First and second rank goes to Argentinia and California:
*2009 Pinot Noir Eola Amity Hills, from Antica Terra winery, Argentinia, and
*2008er Pinot Noir Isabelle, from "Au bon" winery in Climat, California.

Ranks four to seven as well as ranks nine and ten go to Germany (see also table below). Paul Fürst (Franken), Ziereisen (Baden) two individual wines, Gutzler (Rheinhessen), Stodden (Ahr) und Heitlinger (Baden).

The thirteen experts of the Jury, among them the British wine critic Jancis Robinson as well as Master of Wine Tim Atkins, were absolutely surprised by the outstanding quality and the impressive diversity of German wines.

Convinced
The experts were genuinely surprised that German Pinot Noir ("Spätburgunder") would come off so brilliantly, reports Steffen Schindler, DWI-Marketing Director of the German Wine Institute, from London. "We have consciously accepted this challenge as we have long been convinced of the international competiveness of our various Pinot Noirs", says Schindler.

"Today, our wines have impressively proved that they can well compete on an international level". Thus the happy comment of Monika Reule, DWI-Executive Manager of the German Wine Institute.

The 20 German wines, presented at the wine tasting in the London Restaurant "Texture", had been selected as early as September during a selection test, organised by the German Wine Institute, out of altogether 380 different Pinot Noir wines.

In this case, the Jury consisted of the Sommeliere Christina Fischer, wine journalist Stephan Reinhardt, the Director of the International Wine Institute Alexander Kohnen, and the British wine experts Hamish Anderson as well as Tim Atkin MW, who was also in charge of selecting the international wines for the London wine tasting.

Results
The German results:
rank producer year grape variety vineyard quality level
3 Winzerhof Thörle 2008 Spätburgunder Hölle QbA
4 Vinery Rudolf Fürst 2009 Spätburgunder Centgrafenberg Qualitätswein Großes Gewächs
5 Vinery Ziereisen 2007 Spätburgunder Tafelwein Jaspis Alte Reben
6 Vinery Gutzler 2008 Westhofener Morstein Qualitätswein Großes Gewächs
7 Vinery Ziereisen 2008 Spätburgunder Badischer Landwein Jaspis Alte Reben
9 Vinery Jean Stodden 2009 Spätburgunder QbA Alte Reben
10 Vinery Heitlinger 2009 Pinot Noir Königsbecher QbA Große Lag