Schweigen Kalkmergel Spatburgunder
⏳ Drinking Window
2021 - 2028
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Roasted duck, wild mushroom risotto, roasted rack of lamb
✨ Technical Specifications
Weingut Bernhart's Schweigen Kalkmergel Spätburgunder is a profound expression of the unique cross-border terroir of Schweigen-Rechtenbach, where vineyards straddle the boundary between Germany's Pfalz and France's Alsace. The name 'Kalkmergel' pays homage to the heavy limestone marl soils deposited millions of years ago, which impart a distinct mineral tension and structural elegance to the Pinot Noir vines. This wine is crafted from hand-harvested grapes grown in these historic borderlands—where French elegance meets German precision. Fermented traditionally and aged in high-quality oak barriques, it showcases a beautiful balance of dark cherry fruit, earthy forest floor, and fine-grained, chalky tannins, reflecting a centuries-old heritage of viticulture shaped by shifting national borders.
🍾 About the Producer
Weingut Bernhart is situated in Schweigen-Rechtenbach along the southernmost fringe of the Pfalz, right at the French frontier near the historic Deutsches Weintor. While the family's agricultural roots date back centuries, estate bottling commenced under Willi and Wilma Bernhart in 1971, followed by their accession to the VDP in 2004 and formal organic certification in 2012. Today led by Gerd and Sabine Bernhart, the estate commands a singular cross-border terroir: approximately two-thirds of its roughly 20 hectares of vineyards are technically situated on French soil in Alsace, governed by special bilateral treaties that allow the wines to bear German designations. The viticultural backbone rests on dense, fossil-rich limestone, calcareous marl, and clay deposits across benchmark cru plots such as the Schweigener Sonnenberg. Winemaking emphasizes spontaneous fermentation, lees contact, and judicious wood aging, generating deeply structured, mineral-driven white and red expressions epitomized by their Kalkmergel and Grosses Gewächs bottlings.
🍇 Grapes
Spätburgunder
🍷 ABV
13% - 13.5%