TASTING NOTE: Light red fruit and rose petal aromas. Dry, elegant and light bodied with bright fruit flavors, spice and minerals backed by smooth tannins and moderate acidity. - Winery Notes

FOOD PAIRING: Dishes with wild mushrooms work well. Great with salmon, lamb, Mediterranean herbs and vegetables

GRAPE VARIETY: 100% Pinot Noir

VINIFICATION: Harvested by hand from the Roseneck vineyard, so named for the Rosenhecken, or rose hedges that grow on its rocky edges. Fermented with skin contact for 25 days. Maceration lasts an additional six to seven days. The finished wine is aged for six weeks in large neutral oak barrels, then in small used oak barrels for 20 months. During this time the wine is clarified three times by gentle racking. This wine is unfiltered.

ESTATE: Carl Ehrhard and his family tend 22 acres of Riesling and Pinot Noir spread throughout six prime vineyards around the town of Rüdesheim in the Rheingau region of Germany. The estate has been in the family since 1815 and was taken over in 1998 by Carl, his wife Petra and their three daughters.

Weingut Carl Ehrhard is an historic family estate and winery situated on Germany’s Rhein River in the town of Rüdesheim. It was founded in 1815 and Carl took over from his father in 1998. Carl strives to make wines endowed with personality that express the unique character of his vineyards. In Carl’s words, he achieves this by “following the nature” and “returning to the roots.” Specifically, this means all the grapes are grown 100% organically and biodynamically. Fermentation occurs spontaneously from indigenous yeasts, and it is slow. Fermentation and aging only take place in 1200L or 600L neutral oak barrels. The finished wines are not filtered or fined. Some of Carl’s Rieslings are produced using a traditional wooden basket press, skin contact, and natural stabilization (no added sulfur). But these specifics are simply an extension of responding to what nature already provides on its own, and Carl believes that is enough to make outstanding wines. He needs only to listen to nature, and then do the hard work of reflecting it in his wines.

Carl’s vines are spread throughout seven famous Rüdesheim vineyards: Berg Rottland, Berg Roseneck, Bischofsberg, Kirchenpfad, Klosterberg, Klosterlay, and Drachenstein. These vineyards are situated on the steep banks of the river and reflect a wide spectrum of soils ranging from loess and loam, to quartzite, red slate, and limestone. Such diversity gives Carl the fortune to produce a wide variety of wines, and he accepts this charge with enthusiasm and delight. The precise, powerful wines are lively and fresh in their youth and develop great depth and character while maintaining clarity as they age.

Press
The Eichelmann and Vinum wine guides are considered the most prestigious in Germany. Carl Ehrhard is the only German winery to be distinguished by both guides as the “Aufsteiger des Jahres” which means “Climber” or “Rising Star” of the year. Only one winery is chosen annually by each guide and to receive this recognition by even just one of them is very special. Carl Ehrhard is the only German winery to be chosen by both Eichelmann and Vinum – in 2017, and 2020, respectively.