The estate is located in the small town of Dernau in the Ahr wine-growing region in Germany. The „Hofgarten“ wine bar and restaurant, which has been owned by the family for 200 years, is also attached. The current owner, Werner Näkel, studied computer sciences, and worked as a mathematics and sports teacher. In 1982 he took over the business from his parents, and initially ran it as a sideline. Over time, he expanded the vineyard area from two hectares at the time to its current size. He started experimenting with extended skin contact as well as with barrique maturation. Since the late 1980’s, the “red wine magician” Werner Näkel has been one of the leading innovative winemakers mainly responsible for the high quality of wines produced in the Ahr region today. He was awarded the first of many red wine prizes in 1989. He utilised his extensive experience as a flying winemaker in Portugal, South Africa, Gran Canaria and Bulgaria. Together with Neil Ellis he established the „Zwalu“ (new beginnings) estate in the Stellenbosch wine-growing region near Cape Town in South Africa in 1996. Together with Bernd Philippi (owner of the Koehler-Ruprecht estate in the Pfalz region) and Bernhard Breuer (owner of the Georg Breuer estate in the Rheingau region), with whom he had already co-operated on other projects, Werner Näkel in 2000 established the „Quinta da Carvalhosa“ estate in the Duoro valley in Portugal. The vineyard area in the Ahr valley totals 13 hectares, with holdings in the following vineyard sites: Kräuterberg (Walporzheim), Pfarrwingert (Dernau) and Sonnenberg (Bad Neuenahr). The area is planted mainly with Pinot Noir (10 ha), as well as with Pinot Madeleine (2 ha), Dornfelder (0,5 ha) and Riesling (0,5 ha). The top wines include the barrique-matured blends „Blauschiefer“ (blue slate) and „S“, as well as the dry Auslese wines from the Pfarrwingert and Kräuterberg sites, all of which are only bottled in the autumn of the year following the vintage. A speciality is the white wine „Illusion“, a blanc de noir made from Pinot Noir. The estate achieved a 4th place among 360 entries from around the world at the Pinot Noir Cup 2002. Spirits are also produced. The estate is a member of the VDP (Verband deutscher Prädikats- und Qualitäts-Weingüter) association.
The range goes from clear, delicately juicy wines right up to profound, full-bodied and decidedly complex wines. Particularly the top of the range Pinot Noirs (Spätburgunder and Frühburgunder) are definitely impressive: they are the most expressive wines of the whole region. Nevertheless, I am convinced that most of these wines would have been even better if they had been a little less alcoholic. This is the Range of the Year for experienced drinkers, and those who want to feel the effect of the alcohol.
Unfortunately only two wines were presented for this tasting. The Frühburgunder (Pinot Noir clone) was to my mind even better than the 1999 counterpart, and at a price of EUR 16 it is anything but expensive. The Pinot Noir auction wine, on the other hand, broke all German price records. This is justified – the outstanding power, complexity and structure shown in this masterpiece, and that in a difficult year, will be very hard to beat.
The top rank of Werner Näkels 1999 vintage range is a quintet of outstanding Pinot Noir wines that serves to confirm convincingly his status as the leading producer in the Ahr region. No matter how good his competitors are, there is simply nobody who can produce more complex, profound and dazzling red wines on the steep slate slopes of this region. To me, the only possible fly in the ointment is the very liberal use of new oak barrels. Oh, what I would give to taste this brilliant and dazzling Pinot Noir fruit in its original state!
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