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It was suspected early on that Baden could turn out to be one of the winners of the 2010 vintage. Especially the Kaiserstuhl, Germany's hottest wine region, was thought to benefit from the cooler weather and not least the higher acidity. And it is also the Kaiserstuhl that produced the best wines in Baden in 2010 - and that for all the varieties approved for the Grosses Gewächs.

Vineyards near Schliengen (Photo: DWI)

However, it would be an exaggeration to speak of a great vintage; 2010 is not even at its absolute peak in the Kaiserstuhl. Perhaps most of the wines lack the final depth and complexity. Nevertheless, many excellent to outstanding wines have been produced throughout Baden that have the fine acidity and elegance that some wine lovers sometimes miss in very ripe vintages.

Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris did equally well this year, perhaps with a slight advantage for Pinot Gris, which is mainly due to the fact that the Bercher and Salwey wineries presented several first-class examples of the variety. Bercher was also ahead in Pinot Blanc, providing evidence of its exceptional reliability at the highest level, closely followed by Dr. Heger, whose wines all belong to the top group.

In Riesling, the Ortenau was unable to confirm its leading position this year, although it must be said that Schloss Neuweier, an important winery, was missing from the sample. But even Andreas Laible, who otherwise quite regularly produces the best dry Riesling in Baden, fell a little short of expectations with his - still very good - Grosses Gewächs, not least because the high sweetness and the clear botrytis tones here are at the expense of finesse and character of origin. So this time it is an elegant Riesling from Dr. Heger and a much more robust, yet very typical edition from Schlör in Tauberfranken that hold up the Große Riesling Gewächs in Baden.

Vineyards near Auggen (Photo: DWI)

The most attention, however, goes to the 2009 Spätburgunders. As in other regions, Baden produced some of the best red wines we have had the pleasure of tasting from the region so far in 2009. All the top wineries produced first-class wines; Salwey, Huber and Dr. Heger all outdid themselves with their best examples. With some of these wines, we are not even sure that they cannot improve even more. More and more, they are approaching the Burgundian model of the Grands Crus there, but without losing their character and typicality of origin. Quite the opposite: as the wines have become more refined and focussed in recent times, differences in location and style are becoming all the more apparent. So by emulating some of the world's greatest red wines, the best Baden producers are also emancipating themselves from them all the more in terms of quality.

The currently tasted Grosses Gewächse from Baden in the wine guide:

Pinot Blanc

Pinot Gris

Riesling

Pinot Noir

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