2012 Pfalz Spatburgunder Sankt Paul Grosses Gewachs
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Tasting notes
Lighter soil on this site and they describe this as their more ‘feminine’ wine. 100% new oak. Mid to light ruby. Pretty oaky on the nose – sweetly spiced and toasty. There’s very bright, mouth-watering fruit but the oak dominates at the moment. Fine, dry texture, finishes sweet-fruited. Needs time for the oak to recede. Wonder it would have been better with less new oak? (JH)
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
The 2012 Sankt Paul Spätburgunder GG offers a deep and fresh bouquet of chalk, lemon peel and wild berries. Full-bodied, very elegant and with a silky texture, this is a powerful and long, yet also fresh and very finessed St Paul with a lovely purity and harmony. The tannins are fine and refreshing, and give a nice structure.
Dark garnet red. Spicy aromas of bing cherry, clove, juniper and cedar. The gripping blackberry fruit and velvety texture flesh out both the new oak and the herbal tannins. With sensuous depth and a long, seamless finish highlighting raspberries, the Sankt Paul has excellent potential and is without any doubt one of the finest Pinot Noir of the vintage.
Deep ruby colour with purple rim. Intense fragrance of marzipan, chocolate and cherries, not to forget the smoky and toasted aromas of barrique maturation. Almost the beast of Spätburgunder, the Sankt Paul exhibits a massive presence and shakes the palate with a great concentration of dark chocolate, fruits of the forest, earthy minerality and wild herbs. There is no velvet glove for this iron fist, and although I admit that I prefer a slightly more subtle approach, like Voltaire I will always defend the Sankt Paul’s right to express himself in his own inimitable way. The extraordinarily long finish certainly proves his point. (MS)