Dernauer Spätburgunder 2022

Julia Bertram and Benedikt Baltes harvest their Pinot Noir early and don't chaptalize, so the wine reaches a natural 11.5% ABV. The Dernauer 2022 shows what that means in the glass: lively red fruit, cool minerality, and a structure that stays lean without ever feeling thin.

The estate farms around four hectares on the steep slopes of Dernau, Ahrweiler and Mayschoss, fully organic since 2020. Weathered slate soils store the day's warmth, while the cool nights of the Ahr valley keep the acidity fresh. Some parcels drop as steeply as 70 percent, allowing only manual work. Yields sit between 30 and 40 hectolitres per hectare.

Pinot Noir, hand-harvested. Fermentation starts spontaneously, in barrels of local oak built by German coopers from Franconian wood. The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered.

The glass releases wild raspberry, sour cherry and pomegranate, along with fruit drops; with air, undergrowth, earth and delicate mushroom notes emerge. On the palate, fresh fruit carries the wine, acidity and tannin feel polished and rounded, and the finish stays mineral. Serve lightly chilled in a Burgundy glass.

Dishes with a fruity edge shine here: pumpkin tarte tatin, turkey strips with tomatoes, olives and capers, or ox-heart tomatoes stuffed with lamb-mince couscous.

The 2021 Ahr flood hit Dernau with full force: flooded cellars, barrels swept away, entire vintages lost. The winery was rebuilt without compromising on quality, and the vintages from 2022 onward come from that rebuilding period.