The word Hattenheimer on the label indicates that our wine is "from Hattenheim" and even more specifically from Hassel. Hattenheim sits on steep slopes near the base of the Stone Mountains and their small parcel grows only three grapes: riesling, pinot noir and st. laurent.
Today we will concentrate on Molitor's Pinot Noir, in German known as Spatburgunder, from the vineyard Hatteneheimer Steinberg. Over the years we've loved this wine for many reasons, but mostly for its value. It's a delicious wine for a great price, and often times the market place offers it with a few years under its belt. In this case our Molitor Pinot Noir is from the 2006 vintage, a vintage expected to deliver full flavored wines with pronounced minerality and a fresh and harmonious balance between fruit and acid. The German Wine Institute noted reds to be the stars of the vintage, rich in both color and body.
This Pinot from Molitor is both dark in color and full of flavor. It is made in the trocken, or dry, style and has a nose full of red jolly rancher candy, but the palate is a balance of ripe strawberry and tart cherry which makes for a delightfully bright mid-weight red wine. The finish is, in fact, dry with great acidity and the tannins are mild. The result is a dangerously easy drink of wine.
Molitor Pinot Noir 2006 $14 a bottle
