2023 Dr. Hermann, Pinot Noir "R" Rosenberg

Stammende fra Kinheimer Rosenberg, er dette Hermann's bud på, hvad Mosel-Pinot skal være på højeste niveau. Afstilket, spontangæret og herefter macereret i 14 dage ved lavere temperaturer inde lagring i 50% ny fade fra Bourgogne. Den åbner med en uhyre smuk, sexet og dyb næse med smuk lyserød frugt, appelsinskal, blomster, hindbær, topklasse fadtoner, svævende lysfrugtighed, våde sten og skovbund. I smagen er denne silkepolerede, smidige og smukke Pinot lysfrugtig, dansende og ekspressiv med usædvanlig poleret frugt støttet af supermoden syre og poleret tannin; det hele rammet ind i meget meget fint fad, inden den slutter med let tannisk fasthed og kærligt stenet greb under den lyse men ganske vægtige frugt. Præcis, rank og ren, lys men samtidig kraftig, er dette fadkrydret Pinot i topklasse. Uimodståelig flot. (-2032+) ****+

96 points Robert Parker Wine Advocate: "At harvest time and in the weeks and months that followed, the 2023 Pinot Noir Kinheimer Rosenberg –R– was Christian Hermann's problem child. "The grape harvest was laborious. And after the late rains, there was a strong smell of vinegar everywhere, so we had to be very meticulous in our selection," says the winemaker. He was surprised at how well the wine developed in the barrel and in the bottle. Today, the 2023 Rosenberg Pinot—a VDP Grosses Gewächs or GG starting with the 2024 vintage—opens with a deep yet bright, fresh, intense, floral and beautifully toasty-scented bouquet of sweet cherries, raspberry confit, broken slate, tobacco and rose petals. Silky, intense and seriously structured on the palate, this is a full-bodied, very elegant yet concentrated, velvety-textured and stimulatingly saline Pinot with finely grained tannins and a very long and aromatic finish that is carried by fine, crystalline slate acidity. This Pinot from then 32-year-old vines is from a top, very steep cru above the Mosel that benefits from permanent wind and abundant sunshine. It was aged in 50% new and 50% one- to two-year-old pièces from top producers in the Côte d'Or. 900 bottles made."

He produced his first vintage in 2020, but the wine didn't hit the market until two years later. It was an instant hit. "We went for top quality right away," says the winemaker, who currently produces two Pinots: the Rosenberg R and a generic Mosel Pinot Noir. Both wines are so good that we already consider Dr. Hermann to be one of the outstanding Pinot producers in the Mosel region. Hardly any Pinot Noir from the Mosel has as much soul as a Pinot from Christian Hermann. Both Pinots are dark in color, intensely fruity (sweet cherry), without any distracting wood or toast notes, silky to velvety on the palate and incredibly sensual. Their finish is irresistible. The Rosenberg is a true "grand cru," while the Mosel Pinot will be an excellent Villages. You immediately want to drink more of both. In any case, a bottle is quickly emptied, especially at the current low price! The problem is that there are only 2,500 bottles available so far. And according to Hermann, demand is "five times higher." At least the number will more than double in 2025, as Hermann was also able to acquire a 30-year-old Pinot vineyard in the Erdener Herrenberg.

Hermann is reluctant to talk about his Pinot "recipe," but he hasn't exactly reinvented Pinot Noir. Without the new Herrenberg, Hermann has two parcels of Pinot Noir. The plot in the steep heart of the Rosenberg is a Mariafelder clone from 1991 and stands on slate. He has also recently planted a massal Burgundy selection from Nik Weis. The second vineyard is located in the Zeltlinger Himmelreich and is about 25 years old. It is rooted in slate soils interspersed with clay, loess and a little quartz. Both vineyards are sparse, so the vines can root deeply and become "robust." Not only can the weather on the Moselle be demanding for the vines but so can the cherry vinegar fly (Drosophila suzukii). Because of them, Hermann had to cut about 50% of the grapes on the ground in 2023 to prevent vinegar rot. Despite the problematic autumn, his wines do not have elevated levels of volatile acidity.

The rows between the vines are covered with clover and a colorful mixture of flowers, which creates competition and inhibits the vigor of the Pinot. The green cover also provides shade, cools the soil and keeps it moist. Over the years, this also enriches the humus layer and soil life. Hermann has been avoiding fertilizers for years, even for his Riesling. He doesn't want thick grapes but flavorful ones. Only plant protection and the large number of small plots prevent him from working according to strict ecological criteria. The Pinot grapes, which are loose-berried thanks to being halved by hand, have small berries that are not only healthy at harvest time but also physiologically ripe and highly aromatic. They are also so sturdy that they can withstand rain. They come out of the destemmer like caviar berries.

When it comes to winemaking, in addition to the knowledge Hermann has acquired, it is above all practical experience that is crucial, as well as the intuition to do the right thing at the right moment. And, as a matter of principle, to be meticulous in everything you do, even if the working day sometimes feels like it lasts "40 hours," as Hermann says. He is a perfectionist, no less so than Markus Molitor. Hermann's cellar and all the equipment in it are so clean that you could easily perform medical operations here.

Hermann harvests his Pinots by hand at the best time in small, stackable crates, which he can also cool in the cellar if necessary. He ferments the mash with a proportion of ripe stems and otherwise destemmed berries in closed 20-hectoliter stainless steel tanks for hygiene reasons. A little sulfur protects against strange odors and also serves to stabilize the color. When fermentation begins thanks to natural yeasts, the temperature in the tank may rise to 30 degrees Celsius, but then the mash is cooled down again. The cap of pomace is submerged only once in the morning and then again in the evening. Once fermentation is complete, the young wine is left on the mash for up to two or even three weeks, depending on the vintage, before being gently pressed in a pneumatic press. From the settling tank, the wine is then transferred to the best, only lightly toasted Burgundy barrels, both new and old, from French cooperages, which Hermann sources directly from renowned estates through a middleman. His Rosenberg matures for over two years in half-new barrels; the Mosel Pinot, only half of which comes from Himmelreich, is stored for one year in 30% new barrels and in one- to three-year-old pièces. Both wines also undergo malolactic fermentation in the barrel. They are bottled in November without fining or filtration, with a total sulfur content of 40 to 60 milligrams. However, the Rosenberg is not delivered until the third year after the harvest, at the end of January/beginning of February, while the Mosel Pinot is delivered a year earlier."