Weingut Mann, "Rötlich" 2020

In the western reaches of Germany’s Rheinhessen region, also known as the land of the thousand hills, there is a forested subregion fanning out from the village of Wöllstein known as Rheinhessische Schweiz (tr.: Swiss Rheinhessen). It is in one of the hamlets surrounding Wöllstein, between forested summits that recall fairy tale more readily than reality, named Ecklesheim where you can find Weingut Mann, a wine farm covering a steady 10 hectares of vines since the 17^th century. Today helmed by Andreas Mann, the winery has taken on new direction and life – combining the heritage for classical expressions of wine (the pyramid of elegant Riesling expression & reliably lovely pellucid Spätburgunder) with curiosity won by, perhaps, the fearlessness of youth, has resulted in a staunch practice of organic viticulture and near total foreswearing the presence of sulfur in vineyard & cellar alike. In this way, liberated from the regulations of German appellation committees and commitment to purely classical wines, Weingut Mann is mainly producing excellent sans soufre wines that feel as fresh and modern while simultaneously informed by a kind of classical expert’s point of view. Clean but exciting co-ferments & skin-contact wines outline the range for their estate which still produces the core bottlings that have long defined them.

Rheinhessen, Germany. A red & white coferment of Merlot, Müller-Thurgau & Spätburgunder. Macerated for 17 days and fermented with wild yeasts in neutral oak. Bottled with a touch of SO2 and aged for 1 year.