J.B. BeckerPinot Noir Rotweiss 2022 (750ml)

In 2020 or 2021 Becker made a Pinot Noir rosé. It was lovely, very pure fruit, yet it was a bruiser – I think it had maybe 13.5% alcohol? It wove this alcohol into a decidedly floral quality, so that if you weren’t paying attention, you might not have noticed. Apparently, I was told by a friend, on hot summer nights at the Becker’s wine garden right next to the Rhein, it wasn’t totally uncommon for a couple to enjoy a bottle of this rosé, to pay their bill and then stand up, only to grab the table again, their new-found verticality being harder to completely manage after this bottle of rosé. Maybe this is why for 2022 Becker is calling it “Rotweiss?” John, Collin and I all visited Becker this spring, tasted this wine and asked about why it was called “Rotweiss.” To this moment, none of us 100% understand. I think it has some historical connotation? The old-school way of writing “Blanc de Noir?” Maybe it’s illegal to call a wine this and therefore Becker can’t resist?

Either way, this is 100% Pinot Noir and I’d say it lives in a world beyond a rosé and certainly closer to a red wine. It clocks in around 13% and shows herbal, smoky aromatics though the feel on the palate is a bit more fruit-driven, even tropical. It’s a sturdy wine, with a phenolic grip which will stand up to many foods, even fall and winter fare… the perfect rosé after that delightful January swim in the Rhein?