The flavor of pencil shavings in wine of Ahr
Discover the of Ahr wines revealing the of pencil shavings flavor during the olphactive analysis (nose) and during the gustative analysis (mouth).
Ahr is one of Germany’s least-known and Northernmost wine regions, known for its Pinot Noir reds. It Lies immediately north of the Mosel, and follows the Ahr River in the Final stages of its journey towards its confluence with the Rhein.
One might expect a wine region this far north (50°N) to specialize in white wines – like almost every other cool-Climate wine region. After all, neighboring Mosel and Mittelrhein both clearly favor white wines (around 85 percent).
However Ahr producing around 85 percent red wines, of which around three-quarters are made from Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir). The classic example is brick red in Color and smells of red cherries, Sweetspices and forest floor. Barrel-aging can add spice and savory notes.
Ahr Pinot Noir is now a much more Serious, modern and "international" wine style that it once was.
Until 30 years ago, the wines were often slightly sweet and very pale. Today they are invariably Dry and deeper in color – although still much paler than the inky Pinots found in, say, Central Otago.
Across Germany (most obviously in Pfalz and Baden), assisted by climate change, the popularity of Pinot Noir has been steadily increasing. The wave of interest has carried German Spätburgunder to new heights, and saved from near-extinction the earlier-ripening Pinot Noir clone, Fruhburgunder.
How’s the weather been this year? Awful. ‘La nature m’écoeure’, one of my wine-growing friends posted on Facebook on 8 April, having been out to look at the frost-crippled shoots on his vines that morning: ‘Nature disgusts me’. It takes a lot to make a wine-grower feel that. He wasn’t alone. Jeremiads echo around the northern hemisphere as 2021 closes. It’s been the year of all the miseries. None suffered more horribly than the growers of Germany’s Ahr valley, where floodwaters caused by the fou ...
At a lunch in Brussels, the 2021 PFV ‘Family is Sustainability’ prize was presented to Jan Strick and his son Matthijs of Maison Bernard, who triumphed over more than 100 applicants from around the world to win the €100,000 (£84,000) award. ‘Selection was difficult,’ said Matthieu Perrin, president of the PFV, ‘but ultimately the jury felt that Maison Bernard is a brilliant example of exquisite handicraft and the maintenance of an ancient artisanal tradition in family hands, exactly as we fight ...
First past the post in a race for the world’s first biodynamic whisky release was Waterford Distillery’s Luna 1.1, made with biodynamic barley from three Irish farms. Matured in used and new American oak, French oak and vin doux naturel casks, the single malt joins Waterford’s Arcadian Series heritage range. Released towards the end of 2021 and priced at £89.95 per 70cl at Master of Malt and The Whisky Exchange, Waterford Luna 1.1 (Alc 50%) is fruity with mellow cereal and rye notes. The smooth ...