Simon has spotted a Spatburgunder for us this month, though we notice the winery has labeled the ‘07 vintage with the more US-friendly Pinot Noir variety instead of what you see in the image here.

Pick this up at Larchmont Village Wine & Cheese in Los Angeles, where it’s at a budget friendly $17.99. Call and ask for Simon at (323) 856-8699.

Oh, and here are Simon’s notes:

We think it’s time for a straightforward, simple and tasty wine to help you confront these complex times. Bid farewell to an era of excess and greed with this pure and elegant Pinot Noir from Germany.  Yes, Germany. The Freidrich Becker Estate is in the Pfalz region, just over the border from Alsace, and sits on chalk and limestone soils that are perfectly suited to Pinot Noir. A cool climate ensures a delicacy and vibrancy in the wine, and importantly for us, lower levels of alcohol -(this one clocks in at 12.5%.)

Dark ruby on the nose, this shows ample tart red cherry and raspberry on the nose with some pleasing earthiness. This is medium bodied and silky on the palate, with ripe juicy red fruits and hints of sweet spice, the finish braced by uplifting acidity.

This balanced Pinot Noir will pair well with seared Ahi, grilled Salmon with a maple glaze, beef stew or just a platter of your cheeses of choice. –SC

If we were singing it, the lyircs of that Sam Cooke song might as well go like this…”don’t know much about Germany, don’t know much Enology…”. We’re trying to correct the various gaps in our knowledge, and this is what d547 is really all about. So when we attended a tasting about two months ago featuring German and Austrian wines from the Terry Theise portfolio, we were ecstatic to have the experience, but still a little bit intimidated. We’re getting over the intimidation — but are happy to report our excitement is only growing. Read more…