2017 Weingut Schmitt Spätburgunder

 Region: Rheinhessen > Germany

Grapes: Pinot Noir

Winemaker: Bianka and Daniel Schmitt

Bianka and Daniel have been farming their 16 hectares biodynamically
for almost 10 years, and are one of fewer than 100 German growers to
receive a Demeter certification. Once known as a bulk winemaking
region, Weingut Schmitt has been instrumental in transforming the
Rheinhessen into an exciting new hub for fresh, high-quality,
low-intervention wines.  Bianka and Daniel might be the most
progressive of the lot, with their full adherence to biodynamic
farming principles and hands off winemaking.  They believe, as we do,
that the key to great wine is healthy grapes picked at optimal
ripeness, not too much (sappy wines) or too little (overly lean and
tart wines).  They also believe that balanced and minimal intervention
wines are best achieved through extended skin contact, hence the long
maceration time. But they explain that extended skin contact "only
works when the fruit is fully ripened and the berries are completely
healthy for their gentle journey to the cellar. We love this part of
the process, watching and waiting in the cellar as our wines start
their journey. It is then our duty and honor to give them however much
time on the lees they need to discover their own optimal development."
This respect for mother nature and the natural process makes our
hippie hearts so happy.

And this wine makes our gluttonous hearts equally happy!
Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) in Germany often drinks like a Gamay –
light, fresh, bright, crunchy, like a bowl of cherries with a leafy,
edge and a kiss of cinnamon spice.  It's not your daddy's jammy,
Russian River Pinot, Noir but the classic red fruit/forest
floor/earthy Pinot notes are all here, flirting with the funky side
but never going all the way.  Just right for fall food and holiday
drinking.  Serve slightly chilled.