2018 Hexamer Spätburgunder Weißherbst BA, Nahe, Germany

ABOUT THIS WINE

100% Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir)

2018 was a warm, dry year in much of Europe, including Germany. This warmth allowed the grapes to ripen fully, leading to wines that are rich in flavor and balanced in acidity. For this Beerenauslese, the extra hang-time on the vine in ideal conditions led to grapes that had developed perfect botrytization (noble rot).

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

Harold Hexamer’s meticulous work in the vineyard is marked by pruning to control yields (“often six to eight bunches per wine”) and hand-harvesting. The grapes are picked exclusively by hand and fermented very cold (below 12 degrees celsius) with cooling utilized only when necessary – “but we often pick so late we bring naturally cold fruit — below 10 degrees — back to the winery.” Hexamer handles the wine as little as possible: no dosage is used, inoculations are made only with native yeasts, and all wines are whole-cluster pressed. 95% of all Rieslings at Hexamer are made in stainless steel and racked only once, three to six weeks after fermentation is complete. The wines are bottled early to preserve their vigor. For the Burgundian varieties, Harald constructed his own barrels in Meddersheim using oak from the Hunsrück forest seasoned for 5 years. When tasting the wines, one sees the purity of the vineyards, the intensity of minerality, and remarkable clarity. Hexamer’s wines are balanced in the ultraviolet spectrum; they’re steely, acid-driven, clean, and transparent.