Badischer Landwein "V" 2022

A dry Pinot Noir of slender build: cool fruit, fine-grained tannin, an acidity that carries the wine. Marco Pfliehinger and Uwe Lange describe their wines as obstinate and stubborn; here that shows as clarity rather than opulence.

The «V» stands for Villages: a blend of several sites within one village, intended to express the vintage's sense of place. Forgeurac farms 2.5 hectares entirely by hand, following biodynamic principles. These include steep terraces in the Bühlertal valley that no tractor can reach, weathered granite at the Riegelberg, and shell limestone in the Kraichgau.

Pure Pinot Noir, destemmed or fermented as whole clusters depending on the vintage. The grapes are briefly foot-trodden in small wooden vats and fermented on the skins for around three weeks with moderate pigeage, then pressed on an old basket press. Racking is done by gravity, and ageing takes place exclusively in used oak barrels, mainly barriques and pièces. No yeasts, no enzymes, no fining, no filtration, maximum 30 mg of sulphur.

Sour cherry and redcurrant set the tone, followed by raspberry, black pepper and juniper. The used oak stays in the background. The finish is medium-length, spicy, with a subtle bitter edge.

Pairs with roast duck breast, rack of lamb with herb crust and mushroom ragout on polenta, as well as grilled tuna or coq au vin.

The cellar sits in a 17th-century vault beneath the old village forge in St. Leon-Rot; forge gave the project its name. Forgeurac has no pumps, filters or tractors: corking is done by hand, bottling by gravity. Since 2015, a musician and a soil scientist who met while studying in Geisenheim have been making wine here.