Notes from Super Glou:

"Holger’s wines are grandpa chic—that is to say, they are how Burgundy used to taste when grandpa was just a fresh young lad: pre-global warming. It used to be that you’d struggle for ripeness in the Kaiserstuhl, even though it’s the warmest climate in Germany. But with rising temperatures throughout Europe, what used to be Burgundy now tastes like Weingut Holger Koch.

It makes sense; France is just twenty minutes away. In fact, the winery is so close to Alsace that during WWII, Holger’s grandmother could stand in the vineyard and see bombs going off across the Rhine River. Whether it’s geographical proximity or the selection massale cuttings from Puligny-Montrachet and Alsace (Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Silvaner, Grauburgunder, Weißburgunder and Spätburgunder) or the terroir-based approach, these wines are distinctly French with a German accent. 

A level up from the Kaiserstuhl wines are the Herrenstück terraces, whose wines amplify the texture of their lower elevation counterparts without sacrificing freshness. The Pinot Noir Herrenstück is an absolute beauty. It exudes in the minerality of the soils and lingers on the palate with a “bloody, savory tomato depth that most people don’t get to see in Pinot because it’s rare and expensive in Burgundy.”