2024 Wasenhaus Spätburgunder, Baden, Germany

Wasenhaus's entry-level Pinot Noir, cut from the same cloth as the estate's top wines, blended from several parcels of mostly sandy and loess soils in Baden (a "Baden Rouge"). It ferments in an open-top vat for 15 to 18 days and ages about 14 months in used French oak. The 2024 is brighter, sharper, lighter and more herbal than recent vintages, with violet, cranberry and raspberry and an aromatic lift with mineral crunch. It is bottled as Landwein, so the label doesn't name a village or vineyard, and it works with red-sauce dishes, white meats and meaty fish.