Brand Weissburgunder Trocken 2021

The brothers Brand, Daniel and Jonas, have quickly brought attention to the far northern Pfalz, this cool-climate, limestone-rich, would say the brothers (along with Andreas Durst) have

The “famous” Pfalz, the Mittelhaardt region, is a good 45-minutes south. Here, however, in the north, in the Brand brother’s village of Bockenheim, well, things are a bit quieter; the historic and gilded estates of the south, with their tended gardens and

bustling tourism, give way to a quieter, more gritty, working agricultural feel in the north. For the Brand’s wines, well, first there are

size: 18 hectares

key grape varieties: Riesling, Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc), Silvaner, Müller-Thurgau, Dornfelder, Pinot Noir and more

soil: Limestone

vine age: Younger vines (5-20 years) for Liters, for other cuvees vines are between 20-80 years old

vineyard work: Certified organic since vintage 2017. In the vineyards, they will only spray low amounts of copper and sulfur. They are also practicing biodynamics in the vineyard and use assorted soaps, oils, herbs and teas on the vines.

vinification: No sulfur or filtration on “Pur” wines. For 1Ls, no fining and no filtration in most vintages. If filtration is needed, then it is very light and no animal products are used, so all wines are vegan. Sulfur on 1Ls also depend on vintage, but usually 40-60mg/l total.

red wines:

Pinor Noir Pur - different plots on the limestone-rich Sonnenberg, aged in old barriques and old 500L tonneaux
Cabernet Franc Pur - a single south-facing site at the southern end of the village, 2 old barriques
Mythos Pur - Cabernet Mitos, a crossing of Blaufränkisch and Tenturier du Cher; one 500L tonneau produced
Cuvee Flora Pur - 60 yo vines in solid limestone, the best Dornfelder in the Pfalz, easily. Cabernet Franc gone Cabernet Deutsch!

rosé wines:

Pet-Nat rosé - 90% Pinot Noir, 10% Portugeiser, méthode ancestrale Wildrosé Pur - Portugeiser, 3-day whole-bunch fermentation, 1200L barrels

white wines:

Pet-Nat - 50% Silvaner, 50% Pinot Weissburgunder, méthode ancestrale
Riesling Trocken 1 Liter - vineyards from the valley around Bockenheimer hill, limestone, loam, loess, young vines
Riesling Feinherb 1 Liter - vineyards from the valley around Bockenheimer hill, limestone, loam, loess, young vines Weissburgunder 1 Liter - vineyards from the valley around Bockenheimer hill, limestone, loam, loess, young vines
Electric Chardonnay Acid Test - 90% Chardonnay, 10% Riesling, limestone, loam, loess, 25-30 yo vines
Wildersatz Pur - field blend of Müller-Thurgau, Chardonnay and Silvaner
Müller-Thurgau Pur - from highest elevation at the estate, 5-day cold maceration, fermentation and élevage in 1200L on gross lees Pinot Blanc Pur - whole cluster, short maceration, 1000L used Fuder on full lees
Riesling Pur - 7-day cold maceration, fermentation and élevage in old barrique
Silvaner “Elis” Pur - single vineyard, 7-day maceration, élevage in old barrique
Cider Pur - for 2018 vintage this was made from fruit purchased from an organic farmer 5km away as estate trees had no yield

this place, but that presupposes the place has actually been defined, which is a stretch. these are the wines that immediately made both John and I look at each other with eyebrows a-raised, sharing that look of delight when somethingstands apart because of its internal, brightness, purity and zzziiiinnnnng.