Pfalz

In the north, the Pfalz region borders directly on the Rheinhessen growing region. Wine-producing communes in the Pfalz area are sometimes no more than a kilometre distant from those in Rheinhessen. One has to go a little further south, in the vicinity of the town of Grünstadt, to see the first vineyards on the Rhine plain. By far the leading producer in the northern Mittelhaardt region is the Knipser estate in Laumersheim, to the east of Grünstadt. Volker and Werner Knipser are particularly well known for their excellent red wines made from Dornfelder, Lemberger, Saint Laurent, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. Their barrel-matured white wines are also very good.
Practically all the best vineyard sites between Kallstadt and Neustadt an der Weinstrasse are located in the lee of the Haardt mountains on the west side of the national road (Bundesstrasse) 271. Here, Riesling is the leading variety, which can produce both dry and noble sweet wines of world class.
From Kallstadt via Ungstein to Bad Dürkheim, the best vineyards are located on an extended reef of limestone. Here Rieslings with an incredibly firm mineral structure and racy acidity are grown, which generally require a few years maturation before they will reveal their true character. These are the wines with the greatest maturation potential in this region. In the past, it has been particularly Bernd Philippi who has gained a reputation for his impressive Rieslings from the Kallstadter Saumagen vineyard, and in more recent times the Pfeffingen estate has come to the fore, producing wines from the Scheurebe grape that can be among the best in the country.
Bad Dürkheim is the main centre of the Mittelhaardt, particularly in terms of tourist attractions. The annual wine festival, known as the "Wurstmarkt" (sausage market) attracts tens of thousands of visitors. However, at the market stands they are generally presented with wines that bear no resemblance whatsoever to the big Rieslings of the region. It may be that it is simply too easy to sell the very simple wines that will help to explain why to date none of the many wine producers in Bad Dürkheim has seriously been able to join the top group of producers in the Pfalz, despite the availability of some top-class vineyard sites. This said, Karl Schaefer and Kurt Darting are very reliable producers.
The communes of Wachenheim, Forst, Deidesheim and Ruppertsberg provide a number of outstanding, and in some cases world-famous, vineyard sites. The best reputation is that of the Forster Kirchenstück, which as long ago as 1830 was placed in the very highest of 65 (!) land tax categories by the royal land-registry office. Even so it is a moot point arguing about which of the roughly 20 top sites produces the best wines. In any case, the land enclosure reforms meant that most of the vineyard sites were redefined and also replanted in the Mid-Eighties, so that in fact the vines are only now again approaching the maturity required to produce wines that really reflect the full potential of their sites. The predominant soil structure here is decomposed sandstone. Depending on the individual site, this will contain varying proportions of clay, limestone or rubble. The "Three Big B's" are the estates of Geheimrat von Bassermann-Jordan, Reichsrat von Bühl and Dr. Bürklin-Wolf, all of which went through a weak patch in the Eighties, and have now regained their place at the top of the quality pyramid. In addition, Georg Mosbacher has hung on to his deserved place in the upper echelon. Also, the estates of Biffar, Dr. Deinhard and J.L. Wolf, which was revitalised by Mosel producer Ernst Loosen, are all serious contenders.
Near the town of Neustadt, the vineyards in the communes of Gimmeldingen, Mussbach and Haardt can all base their current reputation on the efforts of cellarmaster Hans-Günter Schwarz of the Müller-Catoir estate. He more than anybody else created a style of wine that is both brilliant and extremely fruity while also being serious, and providing long maturation potential. He is the shining example that has been emulated by a whole generation of winemakers in the region, and has thus been responsible for the dramatic improvement in wine quality seen here in the past 20 years. One of the most interesting rising stars is the Christmann estate in Gimmeldingen. Apart from the well-known sites in Gimmeldingen, Ruppertsberg and Deidesheim, this producer has particularly helped to restore the reputation of the Königsbacher Idig site, which has been underestimated for a long time.

(translation by Peter Gebler)