Blood Brother Red – 2021

Robust organic red wine cuvée Blutsbruder from the Karl May winery

The 2021 Blutsbruder Red from the Karl May winery is a dry organic red wine cuvée from Rheinhessen, made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Cubin, and Dornfelder. Robust, with dark berries, bell pepper, and a hint of campfire. Come, be a blood brother.

Blutsbruder Red 2021 is a dry organic red wine cuvée from the winery of Fritz and Peter May in Osthofen, Rheinhessen. Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Cubin provide 80 percent of the power, while Dornfelder contributes 20 percent of the fruit. Aromas of red bell pepper, black currant, and blueberry flow from the glass, accompanied by a touch of campfire and leather.

Black currant, bell pepper, leather

On the nose, fresh red bell pepper, ripe black currant, and blueberry, plus campfire and leather.

On the palate, the cuvée is robust, dense, and spicy, carried by ripe fruit and fine acidity. With 13.5 percent alcohol, it has stature, and the mere 0.5 grams of residual sugar make it uncompromisingly dry. The two Cabernets provide structure and backbone, while the Dornfelder adds juicy, dark fruit—a red wine with character and verve. Incidentally, Cabernet Cubin is a German hybrid of Cabernet Sauvignon and Lemberger that ripens beautifully in this region.

We serve it with pizza, pasta, and grilled dishes

The Blutsbruder Red is the perfect wine for a lovely evening; it is also a treat served slightly chilled in the summer.

It is an uncomplicated companion to pizza, pasta with tomato sauce, or anything from the grill, which is where it feels most at home.

It also unleashes its full spicy power with burgers, braised dishes, or a robust cheese board. Serve it at about 16 degrees Celsius to let it show its full spicy fruit; on mild evenings, even a little cooler does the cuvée good. If you prefer something lighter and fruitier, try the Kleiner Bruder from the Karl May winery, the younger offspring of the family.

The first wine of the Karl May family bond

When two brothers run a winery that is genuinely and honestly named Karl May with a "Winnetou and Old Shatterhand" sense of unity, there simply has to be a "Blutsbruder" (blood brother).

The Blutsbruder Red was the first wine of this family bond; Rosé and White were later added to the offspring. In all three Blutsbruder cuvées, Fritz and Peter May marry a local grape variety with an international one—in this case, the German Dornfelder with the Cabernets. The name is a charming bow to the writer Karl May, whose heroes once swore allegiance to one another.

The grapes grow in various vineyard sites on sandy loess-loam soil, farmed organically and harvested by hand. After ten days of maceration on the skins, the grapes are pressed gently; the must is fermented spontaneously and aged in stainless steel tanks, which preserves the fresh, spicy fruit. The May family has been making wine for seven generations since 1815, on about 35 hectares between Bechtheim, Westhofen, and Osthofen, with the courage to pursue their own ideas. You can find more in the Karl May winery assortment and among our German red wines. Come, be a blood brother.

Blutsbruder Red – a wine and its values

• Origin: Wine from Germany
• Region: Rheinhessen
• Winery: Karl May - Fritz and Peter
• Vintage: 2021
• Grape variety: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Cubin, Dornfelder
• Screw cap
• 13.5% vol. alcohol
• 6.1 g/l acidity
• 0.5 g/l residual sugar

Organic inspection body DE-ÖKO-039 – German Agriculture