Ahr: Pinot from Sun and Slate

Ahr

As we've seen in Zellertal in the northern Pfalz or Santa Ynez in coastal California, wine valleys with west-east orientations often yield something unique regarding climate. Its orientation is just one factor that makes the Ahr Valley, which sits above the 50th parallel north, distinctive. The Ahr River, a tributary of the Rhine, begins in Blankenheim in the Eifel region, "in the cellar of a timber-frame house near the castle" and flows for 25 kilometers through the Ahrtal (Ahr Valley) winegrowing region, and eventually joins the Rhine after Heimersheim. This side valley of the Rhine features steep south-facing slopes sheltered by the low Eifel range and benefits from the moderating influence of the Gulf Stream, creating a longer growing season than its next-door neighbor, the Mosel. 

The Ahr's geography and climate help explain why it's a red wine-dominated region, with over 65% of its area planted with Spätburgunder and smaller plantings of the red varieties Dornfelder, Portugieser and, of local importance, Frühburgunder. Like the Mosel, the Ahr has a cool climate, and Devonian slate plays a pivotal role here, too, heating the ground during the day and giving warmth back to the vine at night. Slate and Pinot Noir is a rare combination, giving Ahr Spätburgunder a smoky and uniquely mineral identity, drawing international attention to its top producers beginning in the mid-1980s. 

Until the late 1970s, Ahr vineyards comprised almost equal proportions of red and white varieties, and the local version of Weissherbst known as Ahrbleichert (from bleichen meaning to bleach) would have been standard in the Straußwirtschaften alongside unserious sweet red wines. Pinot Noir often came from lesser clones like Mariafelder and Ritter, and the region might have gone along contently mediocre if Werner Näkel, a former school teacher, hadn't been so enamored by Henri Jayer and the red wines of Burgundy. Näkel planted Pinot clones from Burgundy and used small oak barrels to produce a new Ahr Pinot type with class and sophistication like a great Vosne or Gevrey. 

I still remember the buzz about Meyer-Näkel's 2005 Pfarrwingert Spätburgunder winning Decanter's Pinot Noir Trophy when many in the US trade were still unsure about Germany's potential as a world-class red wine producer. Meyer-Näkel, Jean Stodden, JJ Adeneuer, Deutzerhof, Nelles, Burggarten, HJ Kreuzberg, Sermann, and the Winzergenossenschaft Mayschoß* lead the Ahr on the quality front today. With the villages of Walporzheim and Marienthal at the center of the Ahr Valley, vineyards to its west are high, steep, and terraced featuring slate soils and giving wines with structure and mineral taste. East of Walprzheim, vineyards are lower and less steep, with loess and loam, and, in theory, show softer, more fruit-driven Pinots. 

The Ahr vineyards to know are well-elaborated by the producers mentioned above. From east to west are Heimersheim Landskrone with greywacke, loam, and loess. Neuenahr Sonnenberg with greywacke, slate with loam and loess. Ahrweiler Rosenthal with greywacke soil, giving full-bodied and long-lived Pinots. Walporzheim Kräuterberg with slate soils. Walporzheim Gärkammer, greywacke and slate, a monopollage of JJ Adeneuer. The previously mentioned Dernau Pfarrwingert, a warm site of greywacke, produces ripe and aromatic Spätburgunder. The steep Altenahr Eck greywacke and slate yielding mineral-intense Pinot Noir and Riesling. 

*Winzergenossenschaft Mayschoß (Germany's first cooperative winery was founded in 1868, before Germany became a nation!)