Two Red Bottles Ziereisen
We drink a bottle of Syrah Gestad and a bottle of Schulen Pinot Noir from the Ziereisen winery in South Baden, both from 2019.
It has been over two years now since the last bottles of Ziereisen around here. It’s really crazy how time flies. I sometimes think that I can’t write about the same winery again and then after checking the history I’m surprised how long it actually was. And besides, Ziereisen always works anyway. A few weeks ago we had a bottle of Syrah from 2015 in our (almost) local favorite pub and it was so good that I threw the plans for more bottle aging of this bottle overboard and wanted to drink Baden Syrah again. The fact that Ziereisen makes really good wines on limestone soils in the very south of the country should be self-explanatory by now in the third post. Both bottles today are classified by the winery as red premium wines, the Syrah Gestad is alone in the category, from Pinot Noir there are four wines in the order Tschuppen, Talrain, Schulen and Rhini. We drink the Schulen today. Our two wines this time are from 2019 and currently cost just over 20 euros. Those who know the wines know that the details of the wine are delivered on the back label. The Gestad is fermented on the mash for 8 weeks and then aged for 20 months in a 225 liter barrel with a share of 15% new barrels. The Schulen stands on the mash for 6 weeks and then also lies for 20 months in the barrel, here with 10% new wood. The vines stand on Jurassic limestone in both cases and the wines are practically fermented dry with 1.4 grams of residual sugar in the Syrah and 0.8 grams in the Pinot Noir.
The Gestad is dark and spicy in the nose. There is meat juice, there is a bit of animal stable and there is fruit. When smelling we find sour cherries, but also blueberries and blackberries and this fruit also appears when drinking. That’s almost creamy, in how dense the wine feels with a very fine tannin and a great acidity. Sure, maybe too young, but also simply great right now. But because that’s so young, both wines get three evenings time to develop.
On the second evening not much has changed in the nose. That’s still primarily spicy and now also reminds a bit of the brine of pickled peppers and a colorful unground peppercorn mix. And with that, the fruit. In the mouth it cuddles along the tongue and this combination of a lot of spice in the nose and a lot of smoothness when drinking is pretty great.
With even more air, it approaches on the third evening what I still have stored in my head from the 2015 basic level Syrah. Now there are more herbs than fruit, it has become a bit more complex, a bit deeper. And that would probably continue on evening 4, 5 and 6 as well. But with a normal sized single bottle we never get that far.
The Schulen is quieter in the nose than the Syrah, but that doesn’t mean that there is no intensity behind it. It seems a bit younger than the Syrah and also a bit more playful. There are red cherries and red berries when smelling. And on the tongue there is real traction. Both from the acidity, but also the tannin grabs much more vigorously than the Syrah. I like it when there is edge and with the acidity that works very well anyway.
The fruit seems less sweet on the second evening, it has become more spicy by now. The wine is still not loud, it is quiet in an intense way. The biggest change has been made by the tannin, which has become much softer. That comes unexpectedly, is quite different from the first evening, but at the same time similarly good. What is left of tannin stays on the tongue forever. And this journey towards more spice continues over the evening with more oxygen.
On the third evening, the spice also makes the jump to the tongue. The tannin remains soft, but there is more traction in the wine again, the acidity is more present again. There are cherries, elderberries and a bit of warmth in the fruit. I know why this winery appears here for the third time now. And why a fourth and fifth time will definitely follow. Whether base or premium, this is always good. Both wines are at the very beginning of what could happen in terms of development and if someone has more self-control than me, then waiting will certainly pay off. But if you are similarly curious, then at least give the wines more than one evening.