Baden pinots from Aldi - Rosé Update
I'll just quickly finish the report on Fritz Keller's and Aldi's project begun here with the rosé, third of the bunch:
Aldi Süd
Germany's (in)famous discount supermarket chain sells more bottles of wine than anyone else in Germany. Wine Rambler does not recommend it, as - ideological considerations apart - most wines are way too expensive for what they bring to the table. Is the "Edition Fritz Keller" project a promising start for a more quality-based approach? Check back here from time to time to find out...
Edition Fritz Keller, Rosé, 2008
Is this the first rosé review on this blog? I'm nervous...
Very pretty salmon-copper-colour. Much lighter than the really pink stuff, but far from the dull brownish-orange that you get in many german rosés.
Edition Fritz Keller, Spätburgunder 2007
Nicely transparent cherry red colour (good. No tampering and pampering by adding juice from more colour-intensive grape varieties here)
This wine smells seriously good - a real pinot nose of raspberries, sour cherries, and a hint of manure (which is also good - embrace it).
Edition Fritz Keller, Weißburgunder 2008
Smells fresh, with appetizing apple and pear fruit, in no way artificial (a pleasant surprise), but not very deep either.
In the mouth, a lean wine with strong, maybe not completely ripe acidity, nicely subdued and unperfumed fruit again, a little grassy, a hint of minerality, and a shortish finish.
Rather atypical for a Pinot Blanc from Baden, where I have come to expect cantaloupe, almond and buttery flavours, this is nothing to get excited about, but a fairly honest, basic fresh white
nonetheless. It will go well with most summery food, and many people used to northern italian whites (e.g. the wine drinking population of Munich) will find this a well-made version of what they know and like.
Baden Pinots from Aldi
Fritz Keller, current owner of one of Baden's pioneer wineries and a gourmet restaurant in the Kaiserstuhl (http://www.franz-keller.de/), has collaborated with Aldi (Süd), Germany's legendary discount food retailer. Under the Brand name "Edition Fritz Keller", he has produced both a Pinot Noir and a Pinot Blanc from Baden, contracting with a great many smaller growers of the region for grapes. In this quest to bring top-quality wine to as many people as possible, Fritz has, as the back label pompously informs us, found inspiration in the "Bauhaus" school of architecture and art.
