Dernauer Hardtberg 2023

The Dernauer Hardtberg 2023 is the single-vineyard Pinot Noir from Julia Bertram and Benedikt Baltes in Dernau on the Ahr, a red wine at 11.0% ABV that draws its tension from acidity and structure rather than alcohol. It is still at a very early stage, yet already reveals its liveliness.

The Hardtberg lies above the village of Dernau, south-facing, at 160 to 260 metres above sea level. The vineyard is shaped by slate and greywacke, a feldspar-rich type of sandstone; in the lower sections, slope loam appears. It is farmed according to organic and biodynamic principles.

Single-varietal Pinot Noir. The fruit is meticulously selected, the grapes ferment spontaneously in open stainless-steel tanks, and ageing takes place in a deliberately reductive style in used 1,200-litre and 600-litre casks made of Franconian oak, for the Pinot Noir over two winters. No chaptalisation, and no fining or filtration either; the only addition is a minimal amount of sulphur before bottling.

On the nose, rose, violet and herbs sit alongside sweet and sour cherry, undergrowth and foliage, while the reductive side brings gunpowder, petrichor and cassis. On the palate, the wine feels remarkably juicy, clear and precise, not playful but with a clear line: again sweet and sour cherry, along with berries and a touch of plum, carried by brilliant acidity and fine-grained tannin.

With roast quail, pink-roasted saddle of venison or braised rabbit with wild mushrooms.

Julia Bertram and Benedikt Baltes bottled their first vintage in 2014 and farm around four hectares on the Ahr, fully organic since 2020. Yields are 30 to 40 hectolitres per hectare, and the steep slopes require entirely manual work.