The Pinot Noir (Sp=E4tburgunder) grapes of Assmannsh=E4usen were brought
there from the Burgundy region of France by Cistercian monks in the 12th
century. Thus the "late burgundy" name (translated from German) is quite
logical. The Cistercian monks had very important holdings in Burgundy in
the 12th century. The quaity of the wine and area of production had
diminished in the early 1900s. The State Domain became holder of the
largest part of the vineyards, and did much work to improve the
quality. In the really poor years they sold the wine for making
Sekt(sparkling wine). Most of the wine I have seen from Assmannsh=E4usen
is from the State Domain. The best vineyard may be H=F6llenberg. Even
despite the efforts of the state, the wine is very different from
Burgundy, and few would consider even the better examples great. The
sweet auslese version seems to be relatively rare, especialy outside of
Germany, probably because weather conditions seldom are favorable to
make a good example of it. A Weissherbst also sometimes is made here. A
Weissherbst often is a very pale pink. Michael Broadbent tasted a 1989
Assmannsh=E4user Weissherbst Auslese from Allendorf. He described it as
"Warm amber; crisp, raisiy; medium-sweet, cinnamon spiciness, good
acidity, dry finish" He rated it 3-star out of 5-star. From this
description, I would guess that few people would connect it with either
Burgundy or Pinot Noir in a blind tasting.


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