Friedrich Becker "Steinwingert" Pinot Noir Erste Lage VDP 2018

關於此酒 : 

「Steinwingert」屬於貝克家族的 Erste Lage 第一位置，在VDP品質金字塔中介於 Ortswein（村莊葡萄酒）和 Grosses Gewächs（頂級產區）之間。它位於阿爾薩斯的施維根和威森堡之間，坐落在一個朝南的斜坡上，表土含有厚重的壤土和黏土，而下層土壤則是石灰岩。在這方面，它與 Kammerberg 並沒有太大不同。

這款葡萄酒呈深紅寶石色。葡萄酒緩慢展開的香氣展示了櫻桃、牛軋糖、肉桂和煙燻的調子。口感清新、豐富、純淨、濃密，質地絲滑，帶有酸度，辛辣的香料調，如豆蔻、丁香和黑胡椒，以及悠長的餘味。這是一款優雅、非常清新且品質極高的葡萄酒，具有精緻的香氣和絲滑、濃密的風味，伴隨著銳利的酸度。葡萄用於釀造葡萄酒的生長在阿爾薩斯的威森堡鎮上的朝南斜坡上。沉重的黏土土壤具有石灰岩下層土壤。採摘時精心手工收集、分類和擠壓。所得的葡萄汁在開放式橡木桶中發酵兩至三周。然後輕輕擠壓葡萄酒，並在小橡木桶中陳釀18個月。在灌裝之前，“Steinningert” 不經過過濾。這款葡萄酒的儲存潛力至少15年。

Falstaff - 「香氣濃郁，成熟的心櫻桃、野生藍莓、乾橙皮、酸櫻桃、微妙的木質氣息以及隨著空氣接觸而加劇的草本香料味。一個簡短、順滑的開端後，是大量細緻的單寧，隨後是細膩、多汁、複雜的水果以及堅韌而精緻的收結上的新鮮酸度。非常礦物質。」

James Suckling - 「令人驚嘆的黑櫻桃和燧石香氣，帶有血橙和煙燻的味道！集中度、絲絨般的單寧和充滿活力的燧石酸度在光滑而緊湊的中等至飽滿的口感上印象深刻。在非常長且粉筆般的收結中充滿活力。」

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate - 「2012年的 Steinwingert Spätburgunder 來自 Sonnenberg 單一葡萄園的一個地塊。這裡的土壤非常薄，葡萄藤相當古老（30至40年以上），這使得葡萄呈現小莓和濃郁風味。這款葡萄酒將純潔和優雅與鼻子上的高貴成熟和強度結合在一起，已經達到了頂級優秀的水準。口感上，這款葡萄酒展示了極高的純潔度、精緻和優雅，以及令人振奮的新鮮感和和諧。收結乾燥、新鮮、濃縮且持久，具有極佳的張力。」

About this wine :

The Steinwingert belongs to the Beckers' Erste Lage (First Locations), which, in the VDP quality pyramid, falls between Ortswein (village wines) and Grosses Gewächs (Great Growths). It is located between Schweigen and Wissembourg in Alsace, on a south-facing slope with heavy loam and clay in the topsoil and limestone rock in the subsoil. In this respect, it is not so different from the Kammerberg.

The wine is deep ruby-red color. Slowly unfolding aroma of wine demonstrates the tones of cherry, nougat, cinnamon and smoke. The taste of wine is fresh, rich, pure, dense, with a silky texture, acidity, spicy notes of cardamom, cloves and black pepper and a long aftertaste. This is an elegant, very fresh wine of the highest quality, with exquisite aroma and silky, dense flavor with a sharp acidity. Grapes for wine production are grown in the Alsatian town of Weissenburg on the slope with a southern exposition. Heavy clay soils have calcareous subsoil. Harvest carefully collected by hand, sorted and pressed. The resulting must is fermented in open oak vats for two to three weeks. Then the wine is delicately pressed and matures in small oak barrels for 18 months. Before bottling "Steinningert" is not filtered and not clarified. Wine has an excellent storage potential of at least 15 years.

Falstaff - "The aroma features ripe heart cherry, wild blueberry, dried orange peel, sour cherry, subtle wood, and a herbal spiciness that intensifies with exposure to air. A short, smooth opening is followed by an enormous amount of fine-grained tannins, followed by a fine, juicy, complex fruit and a firm yet refined acidity on the finish. Very mineral."

James Suckling - "Stunning nose of black cherry and flint with notes of blood orange and smoke! Impressive combination of concentration, velvet tannins and vibrant flinty acidity on the sleek and compact medium- to full-bodied palate. So much drive at the very long and chalky finish."

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate - "The 2012 Steinwingert Spätburgunder is sourced in one plot in the Sonnenberg single vineyard. The soil is very shallow here and the vines are pretty old (30 to 40+ years), which gives small berries and grapes with concentrated flavors. The wine combines purity and elegance with a noble ripeness and intensity on the nose that already represents a premier cru level. On the palate this wine reveals a great purity, finesse and elegance, as well as a stimulating freshness and harmony. The finish is dry, fresh, concentrated and really persistent, with great tension."

關於 WEINGUT FRIEDRICH BECKER 酒莊 :

德國 FRIEDRICH BECKER 狐狸酒莊位於 Pfalz 酒區，自2000年起成為德國VDP會員 (只有德國最優秀酒莊才能加入的協會)，連續8年獲得 Gault Millau 德國No. 1 Pinot Noir 名銜，各地酒評高度評價，酒評人 Robert Parker 表示「Becker 多年以來已是德國最享負盛名的釀酒商之一」，深受 Burgundy 布艮地愛好者追捧。

位於德國 Pfalz 最南端、毗鄰法國 Alsace 的 Schweigen，多年來一直是德國最頂尖的黑皮諾（Pinot Noir）產區之一，而 Weingut Friedrich Becker 正是其中的佼佼者。其最佳的黑皮諾作品足以與勃根地（Burgundy）的頂級酒款相媲美。

1973年，Fritz Becker Sr. 從父親手中接管酒莊後，便停止將葡萄賣給當地合作社，轉而自行裝瓶銷售。他同時是最早嘗試使用橡木桶（barriques）釀造黑皮諾的德國釀酒師之一。起初，他感到相當沮喪，因為正如他所言，成功地「將大自然的饋贈轉化為精緻葡萄酒」並非易事，而他的法國同行早已得心應手。

2005年，Fritz Becker Jr. 接手酒莊的釀酒工作，而父親則繼續負責葡萄園田間管理。2007年，Becker 家族開始調整釀酒理念，逐步放棄以往超過 100 °Oe（萊氏糖度）以上的高糖度採收，改以 92–98 °Oe 的較低範圍。他們了解到，生理成熟的果實比起更多的糖分，更需要保有良好的酸度。

約七成的 Becker 葡萄園分布於 Alsace。他們的頂級園（Grosses Gewächs）黑皮諾來自兩個名園：其一是 Kammerberg，這是一座陡峭的單一園，由 Fritz Becker Sr. 於1966年重獲。葡萄園內主要為德國克隆品系，夾雜部分法國克隆，種植於深厚的泥灰質石灰土中，能釀造出既有力量又兼具礦物感與精緻度的黑皮諾（這裡的「風土」決定一切！）。另一塊則是 Sankt Paul，早在14世紀由維森堡的熙篤會（Cistercians）開墾。後來土地逐漸荒廢，直到2000年代初，Becker家族重新清理灌木與樹木，並種下第戎（Dijon）克隆與德國馬里恩菲爾德（Marienfelder）克隆的黑皮諾。2004 年首次釀得收成時，酒款早已展現明顯的果香（來自第戎克隆），同時具有細膩與優雅的特質。

Sankt Paul 的黑皮諾需陳釀兩年才上市，Kammerberg 則需三年。Becker 家族同時也在 Sonnenberg 以貧瘠的石灰質土壤種植黑皮諾，釀造出格外輕盈優雅的頂級園 Riesling (Grosses Gewächs）。此外，他們還生產一系列極佳的 Pinot Blanc，受惠於大量石灰岩土壤）。

Heydendreich 是他們標誌性的頂級黑皮諾之一，展現出複雜的香料氣息與完美的平衡，具有優雅且豐富的結構。Hommage 被視為酒莊的巔峰之作，風味極具表現力，融合甜櫻桃、花香及黑巧克力的層次，口感深厚且細膩，是釀酒師的極致呈現。而La Belle Vue 則較為輕盈，帶有迷人的甜櫻桃與黑森林櫻桃的香氣，口感細膩且結構優雅，適合喜歡精緻風味的品酒者。這三款酒不僅在德國國內贏得高度評價，且在國際市場上相較於勃艮第頂級黑皮諾，更具競爭力和性價比，彰顯出 Weingut Friedrich Becker 酒莊在德國頂尖黑皮諾釀造領域的地位與實力。

About WEINGUT FRIEDRICH BECKER :

For many years now, the Becker estate located in Schweigen, very far south of the Pfalz on the border of Alsace, has been one of the top Pinot Noir producers in Germany. The best Becker Pinot Noirs compare favorably with the best Burgundy has to offer.

In 1973 when Fritz Sr. took over the estate from his father, he stopped selling grapes to the local co-op and started bottling and selling his own wines. He was also one of the first that independently, but in parallel with Dr. Heger, Fürst and Meyer-Näkel, started using barriques for his Pinots. In the beginning he was very frustrated trying to successfully in his words “transferring the gift of nature into fine wine”, as his colleagues in France had been doing for many years.

In 2005 Fritz Jr. took over the winemaking at the estate and his father continued to oversee the outside vineyard work. In 2007, the Beckers started to work with lower must weights more in the range from 92-98 Öchsle rather than previously with 100 Öchsle or more. They learned that physiologically ripe fruit needs acid more than additional sugar.

Almost 70% of their vineyards are located in Alsace. The fruit for their Grosses Gewächs Pinot Noirs comes from two great sites: the Kammerberg, a steep single vineyard near Wissembourg was recovered by Fritz Sr. in 1966. The old vines with mostly German clones and some French grow on deep marl lime soils that produce powerful but also refined, mineral driven Pinot Noirs (it is all about the dirt here!); the other Grand Cru is the St. Paul cultivated in the 14th century by the Cistercians of Wissembourg.  The site had since become overgrown but the Beckers uprooted trees and bushes in early 2000 and planted a mix of Pinot clones from Dijon and the German Marienfelder clone. The first vintage was harvested in 2004 and even then the Pinots were very fruit driven (the Dijon clones) but with lots of finesse and refinement.

St. Paul Pinots are released two years and the Kammerberg three years after the vintage. The Beckers also produce a Riesling Grosses Gewächs from the Sonnenberg with “poor” limestone soils that brings a surprisingly light and elegant wine. In addition a series of very good Pinot Blancs (a lot of limestone here!).

Heydendreich is one of their signature top-tier Pinot Noirs, showcasing complex spicy aromas and perfect balance, with an elegant and rich structure. Hommage is regarded as the pinnacle wine of the estate, highly expressive with layers of sweet cherry, floral notes, and dark chocolate, delivering a deeply textured and refined palate, representing the winemaker's ultimate expression. La Belle Vue is lighter and more delicate, with charming aromas of sweet cherry and black forest cherry, a refined and elegant structure, suitable for those who appreciate more delicate flavors. These three wines are highly acclaimed not only within Germany but also internationally, offering strong competitiveness and value compared to top Burgundy Pinot Noirs, highlighting Weingut Friedrich Becker's position and strength as a leading producer of premium Pinot Noir in Germany.