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The Pfalz

German Wine Guide:

Introduction
Laws & Classifications
Prädikat & AP Number
German Wine Dictionary
The Saar
The Ruwer
The Middle Mosel Part 1
The Middle Mosel Part 2
The Nahe
The Rheingau
Rheinhessen
The Pfalz

My final instalment in my guide to the wines of Germany looks at the Pfalz, the final (or first, depending on which way you look at it) of the Rhine's vineyards. In our journey up the Rhine, from its union with the Mosel at Koblenz, we have sailed past the vineyards of the Nahe, the Rheingau and Rheinhessen. As we continue upstream, against the flow of the river, the final vineyards of interest are those of the Pfalz, which are in fact set a little to the west of the Rhine, to the south of the Rheinhessen vineyards. These are some of the warmest vineyards in Germany, kindly sheltered by the Haardt mountains to the west which run in a line continuous with the Vosges, the mountains that define Alsace, directly to the south. The vine is at home here, and ripening is not the issue that it is further north in the vineyards of the Saar and Ruwer; in fact, the region is sufficiently temperate for many tender species, such as almond and citrus trees, to flourish.

After the Rheinhessen, the Pfalz is the next largest wine region in Germany, stretching from where it meets the Rheinhessen at Worms, right down as far as the French border at Wissembourg, with over 23000 hectares cultivated. The region was first given over to viticulture by the Romans, and vines were still being cultivated here when the region came under the rule of Charlemagne, who held sway over much of France, Germany and Italy, united as the Holy Roman Empire with the support of the Pope, to whom Charlemagne had previously given military assistance. Over the years that followed the Pfalz became home to a number of rulers, thus explaining the origins of the name which is derived from the Latin for palace, palatium. Indeed, the region was long referred to in English as the Palatine.

The Pfalz has a number of similarities with Rheinhessen, one of the most obvious being that this is another region where Riesling is not all-dominating. Germany's great vinous asset accounts for only one-fifth of the vineyard area, with Müller-Thurgau a close second. Other varieties that play a part here include Scheurebe, Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc and Traminer, the latter once regarded as something of a specialty of the region. There are also substantial plantings of Portugieser, a heavy-cropping black variety. There is a great variety in the soils too, which in their diversity have much more in common with those of Alsace than any other German wine region. Whereas much of the Mosel and Rhine is dominated by slate, here we have alluvial gravel, igneous granite and basalt, and sedimentary rocks such as sandstone, limestone and chalk, rich in fossilised crustaceans, testament to the fact that much of this land was once underwater, the floor of a giant basin between the mountains of the Black Forest to the east and to the Haardt mountains to the west. It is on the slopes of these latter mountains that many of the vineyards may be found. The wines made here are those that best characterise the Pfalz, stylish, mineral, full and racy. Wines from more alluvial soils have a tendency towards a plumper style, with a lush presence of fruit.

The Top Vineyards

Top Winedoctor Estates

Rebholz
Christmann
Dr Bürklin-Wolf
Müller-Catoir
Dr. Wehrheim
Bergdolt
Reichsrat von Buhl
Knipser
Georg Mosbacher
Josef Biffar
Bassermann-Jordan

The Pfalz is an extensive region, and as with the vineyards of Rheinhessen it is not practicable to look at every one in any detail. Nevertheless, starting in the more northerly region known as the Mittelhardt or Deutsche Weinstrasse, many of the vineyards and producers are located a stone's throw from those of Rheinhessen, slightly further north. Those of most interest are situated, as I alluded in my introduction, on the slopes of the Haardt mountains to the west, between Kallstadt and Neustadt, a little further south. Both of these towns lie on the Weinstrasse, Germany's original wine route established in 1935, which takes in all the sites of interest in the Pfalz. A number of towns have an der Weinstrasse appended to their names as a result, somewhat akin to the names of Grand Cru vineyards being appended to the names of certain villages in Burgundy. Unsurprisingly, despite the aforementioned mêlée of varieties in the Pfalz, these top sites are dominated by Riesling, although there is still much variety in the styles, which range from dry to lusciously sweet. Around Kallstadt, Ungstein and Bad Dürkheim there is a predominance of limestone which has a notable influence on the character of the wines, which have a marked potential for maturation. The Kallstadter Saumagen vineyard is one of the most noteworthy sites, extolled by Pfeffingen. Around Ungstein the sites of Michelsberg, Herrenberg and Weilberg are worth knowing, and Fronhof and Michelsberg around Bad Dürkheim also have fine potential.

Reichsrat von Buhl Forster Ungeheuer Travelling south down this road the towns of Wachenheim, Forst, Deidesheim and Ruppertsberg play host to some of the most famous vineyards and estates of the Pfalz. Gerümpel near Wachenheim is one site that should not be omitted, but the Kirchenstück vineyard in Forst is perhaps the top site, although there are more than a dozen others vying for this title. These include Freundstück and Jesuitengarten, and to a lesser extent Musenhang, Pechstein, Stift and Ungeheuer. Around Deidesheim their are a good number of interesting vinyards, particularly Grainhübel, Hohenmorgen, Kalkofen, Kieselberg and Langenmorgen, and also worth knowing to some extent are the Herrgottsacker, Leinhöhle, Maushöhle and Paradiesgarten vineyards. And around Ruppertsberg the Gaisböhl, Hoheburg, Linsenbusch and Reitepfad sites are also noteworthy. The soils here have less limestone, more sandstone with areas of clay, and the vineyards are best utilised by Dr Bürklin-Wolf, Reichsrat von Buhl and Bassermann-Jordan, although all three of these estates have experienced a rough patch in the latter decades of the 20th Century. Other names to look out for include Georg Mosbacher, Josef Biffar, Dr Deinhard and JL Wolf, an estate which has been re-energised by the expertise and investment of Ernst Loosen.

A little further south we have Neustadt and there are fewer vineyards of interest here. Nevertheless there are certainly some producers worth knowing, and many of the vineyards around the towns of Gimmeldingen, Mussbach and Haardt all of which neighbour Neustadt are extolled by Müller-Catoir. The considerable success of this estate has perhaps been inspirational to others, such as the relative newcomer Christmann, based in Gimmeldingen, who works a number of Pfalz vineyards already mentioned, as well as the otherwise forgotten Idig vineyard in Königsbach. Further south, in the realm of the Südliche Weinstrasse, there are even fewer vineyards of interest, although a good number of estates still producing fine wines nevertheless, such as Rebholz.

And so ends my series of articles on German wine, which although including some detail still only serve to scratch the surface, to reveal a mere glimpse of the fabulous treats this nation has to offer. I would encourage anyone to explore and sample these wines, for not only are they intrinsically great in many cases, fine expressions of terroir, complex and ageworthy, but they are also very frequently great value. Such a combination is very rare, and the sort of stuff we can usually only dream of. In that respect Germany is, in many ways, a wine-lovers dream come true.

The End: Back to part one.