Friedrich Becker – Chardonnay Schweigen – VDP.ORTSWEIN
The 2020 Chardonnay Schweigen from the Friedrich Becker estate is a VDP.ORTSWEIN from Schweigen in the Palatinate. Chardonnay is a prima donna that makes high demands on the quality of its soil. Friedrich Becker's goal is to combine the grape's characteristic, lively acidity with the physiological ripeness of the harvested fruit. This is how breed and elegance come together.
Light, bright yellow with greenish reflections in the glass. On the nose, a fine aroma of yellow fruits, such as melon and pear, butter and nut, as well as ethereal herbal notes. On the palate, juicy with a creamy texture, slightly smoky-elegant with a perfectly integrated barrique note and a long-lasting finish. This expressive Chardonnay Schweigen is convincing even at a young age, yet still shows very good aging potential.
It has long been known that the Pinot Noirs from the Friedrich Becker estate belong to Germany's red elite, but the whites are catching up. Chardonnay is one of young Fritz Becker's favorite grape varieties. He vinifies them in a purist and cool style; the fruit remains in the background, while the minerality provides depth and substance and the possibility to mature perfectly.
How the Friedrich Becker wine is made
The Chardonnay grapes for this estate wine were grown in vineyards around Schweigen in the Palatinate, on both the German and Alsatian sides, on weathered limestone soil with a loamy-clay topsoil. The vines are between 21 and 29 years old. The grapes were carefully selected by hand, destemmed, and gently pressed. Controlled fermentation and further aging took place in 228-liter wooden barrels made of the finest French and Palatinate oak. The proportion of new barrels was 40%. After extensive aging on the lees, the wine was bottled in June 2022.
Chardonnay Schweigen – a wine and its values
- Origin: Wine from Germany
- Growing region: Palatinate
- VDP.Ortswein: Schweigen
- Grape variety: Chardonnay
- 13.5% vol. alcohol
- 7.6 g/l acidity
- 1.8 g/l residual sugar