SPÄTBURGUNDER

If there’s a frank but charming unpretentiousness to the best dornfelder and lemberger, a feeling that these are wines not to be taken too seriously, then pinot noir is another matter entirely. Germany is now the world’s third-largest producer of the variety (known locally as spätburgunder) and its best bottles, from producers such as Jean Stodden in the Ahr Valley, Rudolf Fürst in Franken and Ziereisen in Baden, can be every bit as graceful and aromatically allusive as a Burgundy. But spätburgunder doesn’t tend to come cheap: credit to London indie Lea & Sandeman, then, for sourcing Braunewell’s effortlessly lithe and pretty creation at a relatively humane price.David Williams, The Observer (Oct 2016)