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Tasting note
- Character
- A Spätburgunder of aristocratic restraint: powerfully built, yet with the elegance of a dancer – entirely in keeping with Steffen Christmann’s ideal of the prima ballerina. Dark cherry, fine spice, a cool, saline line on the finish. Dry, taut, with a silky texture and the tension that arises from biodynamically farmed soils with deep roots.
- Terroir & Origin
- The Königsbacher Ölberg is one of the VDP.ERSTE LAGEN of the Mittelhaardt – a neighbour of the legendary IDIG, over which Christmann holds a virtual monopoly. The soils of Buntsandstein sandstone, limestone and terrace gravel lend the wines of this Haardt edge site their saline minerality and silky fullness. Here, between Gimmeldingen and Königsbach, lies the heart of the estate’s 17 hectares – exclusively classified vineyard sites, Riesling and Pinot, nothing else.
- Grape Variety & Vinification
- Spätburgunder, the Palatinate’s answer to the Burgundian idea: not opulent, but marked by coolness, structure and a fine tannin architecture. The estate, biodynamic since 2003 and certified by respekt-BIODYN and EU organic, forgoes synthetic chemicals; horn manure, horn silica and compost preparations nurture vines whose roots reach deep into the subsoil. Father and daughter – he with 25 years of experience, she with Geisenheim knowledge and stints in Bordeaux and Australia – vinify together, while three generations look over their shoulders.
- Food Pairings
- The fine spice and taut structure call for substance without heaviness: rack of lamb with a herb crust, duck breast, mushroom risotto or a mature Comté. Also an appealing choice with grilled tuna.
A wine that shows why the Palatinate wants to be taken seriously for Pinot Noir: at 13 per cent alcohol it remains slender, controlled, never loud. Whoever opens it does not merely drink a bottle – they drink the philosophy of an estate that has known since 1798 that less is often more.
