E&M makes some of the most lip-smacking, sought-after Pinot Noirs in Germany these days.

E&M may seem like an unlikely duo to be described as a ""cult"" by Jancis Robinson, or as Germany's top... Read More

E&M makes some of the most lip-smacking, sought-after Pinot Noirs in Germany these days.

E&M may seem like an unlikely duo to be described as a ""cult"" by Jancis Robinson, or as Germany's top producer of Spätburgunder by plenty of others. They're just a couple of guys in Baden with a small parcel of land and a tiny cellar where they make wines. Of course, fans of Burgundy will recognize the image, as plenty of culty Pinot Noirs have emerged from similar circumstances there (including Dujac, in whose used barrels E&M ages their wines).

Of course, E&M has all the not-so-secret ingredients for great Pinot Noir. The vines are old and are planted in a marginal terroir where the vines have to struggle. They are farmed biodynamically. winemaking is old-fashioned and hands off. Everything is done with balance and finesse in mind: extractions are light, oak is neutral. Despite that, the wines possess that quiet power you expect from great Burgundy.

But don't expect Burgundy. We are in Baden, Germany's great Pinot Noir region, not France's. The soils are mostly sandstone rather than limestone. The wines taste different. But they do have that ""thing"" that all lovers of Pinot Noir crave, that ""earthy"" gorgeousness that is so hard to pin down with words.