Now here's a wine I'm delighted to welcome back! Only produced in years when the Baden sun is strong (and autumnal) enough, this German red from Zähringer can give most of the more obvious 'big reds' on our list a run for their money. The grapes were picked at the end of September, vinified and fermented traditionally for about 10 days and then put straight into new barriques. Final filtration took place before bottling in early September 2004. It's a very ripe, persistent Pinot Noir with red and black berry aromas and flavours, with fine and contrasting spicy, roast/smoky notes. It's powerful but disciplined and, although drinking very nicely already, has good aging potential also. A personal favourite.

Grape varieties: Pinot Noir

14%