Weingut Seeger, Cuvée Anna, 2006

When you have a Bordeaux style French red in your glass and it is actually German, it could very well be Thomas Seeger's Cuvée Anna. I opened a bottle Friday night for a group of friends without telling them what it was and the guesses ranged from Argentinian Cabernet to Syrah or French Malbec. In fact, Cuvée Anna is a blend of Pinot Noir, Schwarzriesling and Lemberger. Lemberger is a grape variety also know as Blaufränkisch (especially in Austria), and is know to create wines with sometimes spicy dark berry flavour, some tannins and good acidity - 'Anna' has all of the above. Schwarzriesling, literally Darkriesling, is also known as Pinot Meunier and is interestingly used in the production of Champagne (although Pinot Noir is much better known in this respect).

Cuvée Anna mixes these three grapes to create a dark, full bodied wine with a nose of dark berries, straw, pepper, a hint of manure and a bit of spice. It is full-bodied on the tongue, with noticeable tannins and a certain leathery quality. Add lost of dark berries to the mix and a spicy finish and you get a wine with good structure and aroma that is also well balanced. It has power, but is smooth enough to simply glide down your tongue. An ideal wine to convince people sceptic of German wine. Or simply to enjoy.