Surprising Wines
  • Wine
  • Wine Chat and Terms
  • Interviews
  • About

Weingut Heitlinger's Baden Pinot Meunier 2015, A Light, Easy Drinking Red That Still Has Complexity

1/1/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
by Patrick Ogle

Weingut Heitlinger's Baden Pinot Meunier 2015 is a light, easy drinking red that also has complexity and acidity. At first sniff I thought "this smells like pinot noir." The color is even similar. I tasted right after these observations.

It reminded me a little of some lighter examples of Oregon pinot noirs that seem to be less fruit driven and more mineral. This has less minerality perhaps. There was more acidity than in any of those I've sampled. This wine also has some similarities with Burgundy pinot noirs with tannins that seem to float under the radar then seem a bit more robust on the finish. Honestly, if this had been a blind tasting I think I would have thought it was a German pinot noir. It is light with high acidity and might fool some with a more sophisticated palate than mine into thinking "noir" instead of "muenier."


These are just comparisons, coming up with wines that are in the ballpark of this one. The way to spot a meunier as a varietal is to look for acidity above what you might expect from a noir. The lack of fruit here has as much to do with climate as anything else. Germany is a cold climate and the wines are often not fruity as a result. Pinot meunier is also a grape that tolerates cold--even more so than pinot noir or chardonnay.

Pinot meunier is best known as one of the three most commonly used grapes in Champagne. There are four others allowed but the most common are; pinot noir, pinot meunier and chardonnay. Some might be surprised that pinot meunier is grown more than chardonnay in Champagne (not by a large amount but still more).

Also called Schwarzriesling in Germany, pinot meunier is not a grape to avoid as a varietal. It is a good match for Thanksgiving and Holiday fare (yes, I know the holidays are over)and this particular version sells for less than $15 a bottle. It drinks like a much more expensive wine.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    WINE!

    There are thousands of wine grapes and many places that grow great wines. Why not find out about some surprising wines from surprising places?

    NOTE-Until recently I did not capitalize the names of varietal grapes (as a matter of style) but for a variety of reasons as of February, 2018 we will capitalize but I am not going back and altering the previous style!!!


    Archives

    August 2022
    July 2022
    September 2021
    May 2021
    August 2020
    July 2020
    April 2020
    November 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015

    Categories

    All
    Albana
    Albanello
    Albarino
    Alicante Bouschet
    Aligote
    Arneis
    Auxerrois
    Baga
    Barbera
    Bekari
    Blaufrankisch
    Blend
    Brachetto
    Cabernet Franc
    Cabernet Sauvignon
    Caladoc
    Carignan
    Catawba
    Centesimino
    Chambourcin
    Chardonel
    Chardonnay
    Chasselas
    Chenin Blanc
    Chinuri
    Cinsault
    Clairette Blanche
    Counoise
    Debina
    Dolcetto
    Frappato
    Fruit Wine
    Furmint
    Gamay
    Gamay Teinturier
    Garrut
    Gewurztraminer
    Glera
    Godello
    Grechetto
    Grenache
    Grenache Blanc
    Grenache Gris
    Grignolino
    Grolleau
    Gros Manseng
    Gruner Veltliner
    Italy
    Jacquère
    Kerner
    Lambrusco
    Limniona
    Listan
    Malbec
    Malvasia
    Malvasia Bianca
    Malvasia De Sitges
    Marsanne
    Marsellan
    Mataossu
    Mavrud
    Melon De Bourgogne
    Mission Grape
    Mourvedre/Monastrell
    Müller-Thurgau
    Muscadelle
    Muscadine
    Muscat
    Muscat Of Alexandria
    Muscat Of Hamburg
    Nascetta
    Nerello Mascalese
    Orangetraube
    Orange Wine
    Pais
    Parellada
    Pedro Ximenez
    Petit Courbu
    Petit Manseng
    Pet Nat
    Pineau D' Aunis
    Pinot Blanc
    Pinot Grigio
    Pinot Gris
    Pinot Meunier
    Pinot Noir
    Plavak
    Prosecco
    Red
    Ribolla Gialla
    Riesling
    Robola
    Romorantin
    Rose
    Rosé
    Roussanne
    Savagnin
    Sciaccarellu
    Semillon
    Skin Contact
    Sparkling
    St. Laurent
    Sumoll
    Sylvaner
    Symphony
    Syrah
    T. Amarela
    Tannat
    Tricadeira Preta
    Trollinger
    Trousseau Gris
    Trousseau Noir
    Valdiguié
    Valdiguié
    Verdeca
    Verdejo
    Verdelho
    Video
    Viognier
    Viura/Macabeo
    Vlahiko
    White
    Xarel Lo
    Xarel-Lo
    Xarel-lo Vermell
    Xinomavro
    Xynisteri
    Zinfandel
    Zweigelt

    RSS Feed

      We'd love to hear from you...(probably)...

    Submit