Dautel is the story of today’s Württemberg in microcosm. It’s also the story of the contemporary wine drinker, who are fewer in number and more exacting in standards of quality. The “old” Württemberg, dominated by co-ops producing decent plonk which the locals consumed easily, eagerly, and for the most part indifferently, has been superseded by a far smaller range of fine to excellent growers selling their wine to a community of epicures.
Christian Dautel’s father was among the first to smash the old mold. In doing so he followed a familiar pattern; cutting and pasting sensibilities he observed in his travels to other (mostly French) wine regions. I didn’t know the wines then, but I’m told they were effective of their type and time, and Christian has great respect for his father’s efforts, and the two generations work together seamlessly.
Today’s Dautel wines have less alcohol and less wood – or in any case less overt wood – and like many smart producers he seeks to make wines with flavors arising from within rather than flavors affixed from without. His Pinot Noirs are not only wholesome, sophisticated and graceful; they come from a vintner who appreciates the viscera of red Burgundy and applies that frame of reference to his own wines. They are not at all facsimiles of Burgundy. They are German PN made by a man who gets Burgundy.
The traditional varieties – in this case Lemberger, Trollinger and Pinot Blanc – are so elevated in quality the drinker of 30 years ago wouldn’t recognize then as Württemberg. The Rieslings move seamlessly into the highest echelon of German Riesing. Though I didn’t taste them this time, his sparkling wines are first class.
There were 28 wines in all, consisting of two vintages of each wine in the range of PN, Chardonnay, Lemberger, Pinot Blanc, and Riesling. My first run through them took me five days, and in effect I’ve been living with Weingut Dautel for the last twelve days (and for the next ten too, from all appearances. I’ve had very few wines other than these, since tasting the first bottle They continue to be joyful, interesting and useful. None has deteriorated and many have improved.
Dautel is the kind of estate to reassures us that wine is in good hands. Not just “his” wines or the region’s wines – wine. Craft and intuition and a nearly unerring sense of taste and proportion are found here. That, plus the guy is down to earth and funny.
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