Griesel Sekt – Pinot Noir Prestige Brut Nature

The Griesel Sekt Pinot Noir Prestige Brut Nature 2019 is a limited vintage sparkling wine made from Pinot Noir grapes without the addition of dosage. A total of 4,989 bottles were produced. The Pinot Prestige is a Blanc de Noir sparkling wine, meaning a white sparkling wine pressed from red grape varieties. It smells of ripe red apple and pear chutney, with rosemary and juniper notes, and hints of warm pretzel with smoked bacon round out the impressions. On the palate, a powerful effervescence, mouth-filling, spicy, long-lasting. The Griesel Pinot Noir Prestige Brut Nature is multifaceted, complex, with good tension, very juicy, until at the end the vibrant tension and refreshing quality remain.

This Griesel Sekt was tasted for the first time by Stephan Reinhardt in the Wine Advocate and rated with Parker 92+ points.

Sekthaus Griesel – how the Pinot Noir Prestige is made

The grapes for this Griesel Blanc de Noir sparkling wine grow on soils of the Hessische Bergstraße, which are characterized by a high granite content, so that the vines have 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 grapes were hand-picked in September 2019 and then very gently pressed. As in Champagne, Niko Brandner also understands the importance of gentle pressing, because the less tannins and wax from the berry skin get into the must, the finer and longer-lasting the effervescence in the sparkling wine can become later. Only about 50% of the juice present in the berries is pressed off.

In the cellar, Niko Brandner gives things time, so the grapes are allowed to ferment spontaneously and undergo malolactic fermentation, in 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 (40%) and wood (25% barrique + 35% tonneau) barrels for aging, which gives the sparkling wine more complexity.

A year later, in July 2020, the Pinot Noir is bottled without filtration and fining and tirage is added to initiate the second fermentation in the bottle. Now it is allowed to rest and mature for another 34 months on its fine lees in the cellar built in 1904, it is regularly riddled and the bottles are increasingly turned upside down, until at the very end during disgorgement (June 2023) the yeast plug is removed from the bottle and the Griesel Sekt Pinot Noir Prestige Brut Nature goes on sale without the addition of dosage and without the addition of sulfur. Acidity 7.2g/l

Sparkling wine with time and enjoyment

A Griesel Sekt of the Prestige classification is produced using traditional bottle fermentation. After bottling the base wine, it matures for at least 34 months on the lees and undergoes the second fermentation, the transformation from wine to sparkling wine. The long yeast contact ensures a fine effervescence and notes of brioche, of fine yeast dough, in the sparkling wine Griesel Sekt Prestige.