100% Pinot Noir from a mix of vineyards on slate. 50% stem inclusion. Vinified 3 weeks in open fermenters then matured briefly in used Burgundy barrels. Bottled unfiltered. Bright magenta in color, fruit-driven, juicy, buoyant, and addictively drinkable.

Origin: Mosel, Germany
ABV: 0.12
USNW Classification: Natural
Varietal & Type: Pinot Noir
Vintage: 2022

Tasting Notes

Violet, Cherry, Mushroom

Vineyards

Estate

About the Winemaker

Janko Štekar with his wife Tamara has been cultivating 5 hectares of vineyards for several generations in Brda (the Slovenian side of the Collio), on the border with Italy. In the vineyard and in the cellar, the total absence of synthetic chemicals, but only organic treatments, when needed, also using plant macerates offered by a territory. Long maceration and spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts, produces authentic wines, which express all the evocative power of the terroir. The wines are not bottled every year, but only when the vintages are optimal: making wine is an art that goes in symbiosis with nature and with the seasons, which mark the times of activity.->Discover all the wines of Weingut Günther Steinmetz consists of 13ha of vines spread over a rather broad area of 20km in the heart of the Middle Mosel. The historic estate, centered in Brauneberg, is 120+ years old; Stefan's grandfather was one of the first in the village to bottle wines under his own name. The vineyards on the elegant, blue-white-and gold labels read like a who's who of legendary Mosel sites: Brauneberger Juffer, Piesporter Goldtröpfchen, Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Dhroner Hofberg, Mülheimer Sonnenlay, and Kestener Paulinshofberg, all ranked as VDP Grosse Lagen (Grand Cru's). Perhaps the most exciting and defining of Stefan's holdings are his sites in Wintrich, the Wintricher Gaierslay and Ohligsberg, two steep, south-facing, cool and breezy side-valleys of purple-hued slate and quartzite in which he holds commanding positions. There is a sense of breathing sacred air as one strolls through these quiet, half-hidden vineyards. Stefan took over the winery when he was just 17 years old due to the sudden passing of his father in 1998. Not hoped for and not easy, it took a heroic level of determination to assume the mantle at such an important estate. His success and expansion of it in subsequent years has been remarkable. Today, his wines are considered a benchmark for the area, lauded by collectors and required reading in every major vintage report. Farming and winemaking here are strictly conscientious. Grapes are harvested in low quantities, entirely by hand. As Stefan puts it: "The external economy is oriented towards natural viticulture, which includes the most environmentally friendly viticulture possible by not using fertilizers or herbicides and insecticides. In the cellar management, we renounce any addition of treatment agents such as yeasts and fining agents, as well as acid additives or deacidification limes. Also, no animal proteins are used. All wines, without exception, are fermented spontaneously in large wood or steel. The aim of my efforts is to create wines that are a "fingerprint" of everything that makes up the character of a great vineyard."

Shipping Details

US Natural Wine ships once a week, every Wednesday. All orders should be placed by Tuesday at 10am in order to be picked up from our distributors and out on Wednesday's delivery truck. Shipping cost is 30 bucks a box (up to 12 bottles) so we highly encourage picking up more than 1 bottle for the best value!