The second of our 'ten year's after' tastings took place earlier this week at Andreas Lelke's Gut Sulz along the Rhine. After the pleasant surprise with some of the finest 2000 Pinot Noirs last year, we approached 2001 with great expectations. Although there were a number of very fine Burgundies, we were by and large underwhelmed. In some of our erstwhile favourites there were jammy notes hinting of overripeness, others had startlingly green acidities and still others were over extracted. Yes, that is what happens everywhere in each vintage, but these were ostensibly the best wines from what was originally one of the most interesting vintages of the new millennium. According to Bernhard Huber, it should have been a cake walk. Yields were at best normal...and nature threw almost no difficulties at the producer's feet. Yes, in the end there were a dozen beautiful wines, but I am not sure that 2001 must be counted among the great red wine vintages in Germany. As Becker's dominance in the discipline was only just beginning to make itself felt, Fürst, Huber and, surprisingly, Franz Keller presented the most convincing wines. A full list of my favourites will appear this fall in the new edition of my guide.  Comments