Griesel Blanc de Noirs Brut 2022 - Sparkling Wine from the Tradition Line

The Griesel Blanc de Noirs Tradition Brut 2022 is a classic sparkling wine made from Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. This Blanc de Noirs sparkling wine, a white sparkling wine pressed from red grape varieties, boasts aromas of ripe red apple and pear chutney, with hints of rosemary and juniper, rounded off by notes of warm pretzel bread with smoked bacon. On the palate, it offers a powerful effervescence, mouth-filling, spicy, and long-lasting. This Blanc de Noirs sparkling wine from the Tradition line is multi-layered, complex, with good drive, very juicy, leaving a vibrant tension and refreshing finish.

Sekthaus Griesel – how the Blanc de Noirs Brut is made

The grapes for this Griesel Blanc de Noirs sparkling wine grow on soils of the Hessische Bergstraße, which are characterized by a high granite content, forcing the vines to dig deep into the earth. This and the cool winds from the nearby Odenwald ensure a good acid structure and minerality in the base wines.

The Pinot Noir (Spätburgunder) and Pinot Meunier (Schwarzriesling) grapes were 100% hand-picked in September 2022 and then very gently pressed. As in Champagne, Niko Brandner understands the importance of gentle pressing, because the less tannins and wax from the grape skins enter the must, the finer and longer-lasting the effervescence in the sparkling wine can become. Only about 50% of the juice present in the berries is pressed off. Niko Brandner can draw on 5% reserve wines, which make the Blanc de Noir even more complex.

In the cellar, Niko Brandner gives things time; the grapes are allowed to ferment spontaneously and undergo malolactic fermentation, during which the malic acid in the wine is converted into the milder lactic acid, which gives the wine a special mouthfeel and creaminess. Cellar Master Brandner combines large and small stainless steel (52%) and wood (16% barrique + 32% large wooden barrel) casks for aging, which gives the sparkling wine more complexity.

A year later, on July 29, 2023, the Blanc de Noirs is bottled without filtration or fining and tirage liqueur is added to initiate the second fermentation in the bottle. The dosage was 4g/l. It is then allowed to rest and mature on its fine lees for another 20 months in the cellar built in 1904, being regularly riddled and the bottles gradually inverted, until finally, during disgorgement, the yeast plug is removed from the bottle, and the Griesel Sekt Blanc de Noirs finally goes on sale in mid-March 2025.

Tradition – Time and Enjoyment

A Griesel sparkling wine of the Tradition classification is produced using traditional bottle fermentation. After bottling the base wine, it matures for at least 20 months on the lees and undergoes a second fermentation, the conversion of wine to sparkling wine. The long contact with the yeast ensures a fine effervescence and notes of brioche, of fine yeast dough, in the Griesel Sekt Tradition.