Schweigen Kalkmergel Riesling
⏳ Drinking Window
2022 - 2030
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
roasted pork belly, grilled sea bass, choucroute garnie
✨ Technical Specifications
Hailing from the unique cross-border vineyards of Schweigen, where Germany's Pfalz region seamlessly meets French Alsace, the Schweigen Kalkmergel Riesling is a profound testament to its terroir. The defining feature of this wine is the 'Kalkmergel'—a soil rich in limestone marl that is highly unusual for Riesling, which is more traditionally associated with slate. This ancient geological formation, dating back millions of years to a time when the region was covered by a primeval sea, imparts a distinctively chalky, salty minerality and a structural tension to the wine. Weingut Bernhart utilizes traditional, gentle vinification methods, allowing the must to ferment naturally to preserve the pure, mineral-driven character of the fruit. The result is a dry Riesling that beautifully balances vibrant, crisp acidity with deep, textured layers of yellow stone fruit and citrus, capturing the complex historical heritage of this borderland terroir.
🍾 About the Producer
Located in Schweigen-Rechtenbach at the southernmost tip of the Pfalz along the French border, Weingut Bernhart is a distinguished family-run estate renowned for bridging German and Alsatian viticultural traditions. Led by Gerd Bernhart, a member of the prestigious VDP since 2004, the estate crafts expressive, site-transparent wines from venerable cross-border sites like the Schweigener Sonnenberg. The winery is celebrated for its deep limestone-rich terroirs, which yield extraordinarily mineral, complex, and age-worthy Burgundian varieties—notably refined Spätburgunder, Weissburgunder, and Chardonnay—alongside tension-filled, crystalline dry Rieslings.
🍇 Grape Varieties
Riesling