The Palatinate, or Pfalz in German, with its warm climate grows all kinds of fruits and perhaps Germany’s best asparagus. The wines from here are a little more broad-shouldered and fruit-dominated than from the cooler Rheingau and Nahe, but it is a large district with many different microclimates and soils so it is difficult to generalize.
Producers in this episode:
- Bürklin-Wolf, Wachenheim
- Christmann, Gimmeldingen
- Rings, Freinsheim
- Seckinger, Niederkirchen bei Deidesheim
This is part of a series on German wines, and ,above all, a selection of quality German producers in five wine regions in Germany. This is the result of BKWine’s reporter Göran van den Brink’s big German tour in the summer of 2024, in six parts:
Wine connoisseurs have always known that Mittelhaardt, the northern part of the Palatinate, is a good address for riesling. Kallstadt, Ungstein, Wachenheim, Forst, Deidesheim, Ruppertsberg, Königsbach, Gimmeldingen, Haardt – the names of these wine villages have a world-wide reputation. Wineries such as Christmann, Dr Bürklin-Wolf and von Winning are located there.
As early as the 19th century, when the Palatinate was still under Bavarian rule, Forst’s church had the highest credit rating of all the vineyards. Even today, the Riesling wines from these soils of basaltic volcanic rock are the most expensive in the entire Pfalz/Palatinate. Nevertheless, it can be said that the wines from Mittelhaardt have never been as good as they are now. The best wines are monuments unmatched in Germany for mouthfeel volume and multi-layered richness, such as Forster Kirchenstück and Pechstein from von Winning and Bürklin-Wolf.
The wines from Kallstadt and Ungstein, which grow on pure limestone, are in my opinion lighter and more elegant, such as Saumagen from Rings. Low yields, gentle processing, big investments in new cellars and new cellar technology, increasingly organic and biodynamic cultivation of the vineyards – all this has given viticulture in the Palatinate a powerful boost. However, alcohol levels of 13.5% by volume and more are now the rule for dry wines from late harvest and above, due to global warming.
The Palatinate did not have the same challenges with rain late in the season in 2023 as the northern regions, however it was a warm year with slightly lower acidity than usual.
Dr. Bürklin-Wolf, Wachenheim
Bürklin-Wolf is perhaps the most prestigious winery in Pfalz, if not in all of Germany. Their riesling wines have a world reputation and the top wine Forster Kirchenstück competes every year with Keller’s G-Max and Emrich Schönleber’s Auf der Ley, to be Germany’s best dry wine and are priced accordingly.
The focus here is on the vineyards and their unique terroir. Bürklin Wolf classifies the wines as P.Cs and G.Cs, abbreviations that stand for nothing other than 1er Cru and Grand Cru. So they do not use the German nomenclature with Grosses Gewächs.
They were one of the first top producers to start with biodynamics in Germany. Bettina Bürklin-von Guradze has made biodynamics socially accepted in Germany. The best vineyards are ploughed with horses, they work according to Steiner’s guidelines and since 2005 all vineyards have been completely converted.
However, you don’t have to empty your bank account completely and only buy their top wines. They only make wines from premium and grand cru locations, so even their Gutswein for €14.50 is incredibly good. You get the very best value for money if you invest in their “village” wines, what others call Ortswein. If you find the village wine from Forst, it is only grand cru locations and a super bargain for €30.
Vinotek manager Riccardo Korner talks about the 2023 vintage: “The wines from 2023 are a little more open and juicier, good already now! We had good weather all summer which gave good ripening. Some rain in the fall caused us to lose about 10% of the harvest due to botrytis, something we don’t want in our wines. We are very happy with the quality of what we have in barrels and bottles now.”
Right now there is only one riesling in Sweden (in the on-order range), Wachenheimer riesling trocken 2022 and it will probably take a year before the 2023 arrives.
Christmann, Gimmeldingen
Steffen Christmann is chairman of the VDP, the association of German quality producers. Therefore, it surprised many that they stopped making Ortswein according to VDP’s new rules. They now invest exclusively in vineyards of erste and grosse lage. Their new Gutswein is called Aus den Lagen and is made exclusively from grapes from these locations.
For Systembolaget, however, a simpler wine is made from purchased grapes because large volumes and low prices are required, in the same way as Dönnhoff and Keller do. It is simply not possible to provide the quality they really want on those terms.
Just like Bürklin-Wolf, Christmann grows biodynamically. I remember the last visit to Steffen when we took his Landrover up to the top vineyard called Idig. You could clearly see which were his vines, they were simply healthier and stronger. The focus on biodynamic cultivation and the courage to no longer produce simpler wines say something about Steffen Christmann’s quality ambitions.
The wines are brilliantly elegant, even if they are a little more broad-shouldered than the wines from Nahe and Rheingau. You can really feel the vineyard in every bottle. Once I had both Idig riesling and Idig spätburgunder at a dinner. I don’t know if it was imagination but I thought you could clearly feel that they came from the same vineyard even though one was white and one was red.
But on this visit Christmann’s still wines were not my focus, I wanted to know everything about Sektgut Christmann & Kauffmann, a new company with the ambition to make sparkling wines at the same level as in Champagne. Just when Steffen and his daughter Sophie had decided to focus on the single vineyard wines and halve the vineyard area, he received an offer that was too good to refuse. Their neighbour Weingut Mugler wanted to retire and had no one willing to take over. Steffen was offered to take over all the fine vineyards they had. He contacted Mathieu Kauffmann at Weingut von Buhl to see if they were interested in a collaboration. Kauffmann has a background as chief winemaker at Bollinger and in recent years had elevated von Buhl to Germany’s leading sparkling wine producer with high ambitions.
It is a bit unclear how it happened, but Kauffmann left von Buhl and together they started the brand new Sektgut Christmann & Kauffmann in 2019. The ambition is to make sparkling wines that can compete with the best in Champagne. BKWine Magazine got to ride in that Landrover again, but now to the secret ageing cellar in Gimmeldingen where the bottles lie on the lees and mature. A huge underground cellar filled with bottles in large cages. Steffen talks about the ambitions. It is of course a huge investment to start a brand new company where it may take ten years before you can start selling the top wines, but Steffen does it without great investments and his own financing.
So far, they have released some simpler cuvées, something that is of course risky if you want to build a reputation for quality. Fortunately, the wines were very well received. Or luck it is perhaps not, a man like Steffen Christmann would never release anything for sale if it didn’t fulfil his ambitions. It will be exciting to try the top wines in a number of years.
Right now, wines from Christmann are a bit scarce at Systembolaget, waiting for new vintages. You can get hold of the simplest riesling in most stores and the new Aus den lagen in the on-order range. The sekt from Christmann & Kauffmann is not offered in Sweden.
Rings, Freinsheim
Freinsheim is located in the northern Palatinate and is a little cooler than the vineyards in Forst, which is reflected in the wines. When I first got in touch with Andy Rings and bought their wines, they were considered an insider tip and upcoming stars. Since then they have gone from strength to strength and in 2015 they became members of VDP.
In 2001, Andy and his brother Steffen took over the family’s fruit and bulk wine farm, but they had completely different plans than bulk wines. Today they make both riesling and spätburgunder in absolute world class, perhaps the strongest combined portfolio of all visits during the trip together with Thörle in Rheinhessen.
The wines from the limestone vineyards in Kallstadt in particular were impressive for both Riesling and spätburgunder. The wines at all quality levels Kallstadt Ortswein, Kallstadter Steinacker Erste Lage and Saumagen GG (Grosses Gewächs), are brilliant. Clear purchase recommendations for all six wines.
Right now, no wines seem to be in store at Systembolaget, but the importer has some in stock and sells via the order range, uncertain if the vintages there are correct. Production is too small and artisanal for the standard range (ed.: Systembolaget’s assortment, the so-called “permanent range”) but it would be strange if the monopoly did not release the Spätburgunder wines from 2022 and Riesling from 2023 in the temporary range. If not, I will stand outside the main office at Kungsträdgården and call for everyone to resign.
Seckinger, Niederkirchen bei Deidesheim
Unlike all tradition-laden wine estates with centuries-old origins, the Seckinger brothers with Jonas at the helm are newcomers. Or better expressed future stars and probably soon members of the VDP.
Seckinger represents the new Germany. It started as a “garage winery” with one hectare in 2012. Today, it has 32 ha of biodynamically cultivated vineyards in prime locations around Deidesheim and has outgrown the garage and plans for a new winery outside the village.
They have a very clear idea of how they want their wines. Uncompromisingly, they have developed the style year after year. They are one of the few producers who regularly put their wines through malolactic fermentation. This means that they can have extremely low residual sugar but still have very well-balanced wines. The secret of riesling is, as you know, a balance between sweetness and acidity. If you cut down on one, you have to do it on the other as well, to maintain the balance. The result is really delicious; mineral wines with high finesse, fine interplay between reductive notes, fine tannins, crystalline acidity and a juicy fruit.
Seckinger makes Pfalz riesling in a new way, and after years of experimentation they have developed their own style. True to its terroir, clear and purist, but always with a “Pfalz soul”. It will be exciting to follow these stars of the future in time to come.
A number of their wines will be released at Systembolaget in the autumn, unclear if it will be temporary or on-order at the time of writing. If you want to try now and live in Stockholm, you can visit E&G on Birger Jarlsgatan or Teddys on Sibyllegatan.
Read the next episode in the series here: Rheinhessen.
Read the previous episode here: Baden.
