Pinot Noir – 2023

Organic Pinot Noir Estate Wine from Weingut Karl May

The 2023 Pinot Noir from Weingut Karl May is a dry, organic Spätburgunder from Rheinhessen. Ruby red, full-bodied, piquantly fruity, with a subtle hint of almond. An uncomplicated red wine with depth that shines alongside steak and duck.

Pinot Noir 2023 is the entry-level Spätburgunder from Weingut Karl May in Rheinhessen, a dry organic red wine from Bechtheim on the edge of the Wonnegau region. It glows ruby red in the glass and tastes full-bodied and piquantly fruity, with a light nuance of almond. A true all-rounder for sociable evenings.

Ruby red, piquantly fruity, a touch of almond

It glows ruby red in the glass, with notes of red fruit and a fine, almost almond-like quality on the nose that sets it apart from many other Spätburgunders.

On the palate, the Spätburgunder is full-bodied, juicy, and spicy, supported by a good acid balance and fine minerality. With 12.5 percent alcohol and only 0.6 grams of residual sugar, it remains dry and lean. Give it a little air in a carafe beforehand, and it gains a rich complexity in the glass that you wouldn't expect from the first sip. Spätburgunder, as Pinot Noir is known here, is one of the most demanding red grape varieties, and as an entry-level wine, it truly shows what a winery is capable of.

We serve it with steak, duck, and braised dishes

Served at 16 to 18 degrees Celsius and decanted, the Pinot Noir reveals its full depth.

It makes a wonderful companion to a juicy steak or duck, as well as to braised dishes or aged hard cheese. Its fruit and spice can stand up to stronger sauces without overpowering them. In the summer, you can feel free to serve it a touch cooler, in which case it also goes well with grilled food. If you prefer something bigger and more oak-influenced, take a look at our German red wines.

Eighteen days in open vats with Fritz and Peter May

The grapes for the Pinot Noir grow on 28-year-old vines in the Bechtheim Heiligkreuz vineyard, which is farmed organically.

To ensure the grapes ripen properly, Fritz and Peter May prune early, defoliate the grape zone for more sunlight, and reduce yields with a green harvest in early summer. Harvesting is done selectively by hand, often in several passes. The mash ferments for eighteen days in open vats before being gently pressed, followed by spontaneous fermentation of the must.

The wine then rests on the lees for a long time and matures for ten months in large wooden casks and older barriques; this gives it complexity, fullness, and creaminess without masking it with oak notes. It is precisely this restraint that makes the Karl May Spätburgunder so drinkable. The May family has been making wine for seven generations since 1815, across about 35 hectares between Bechtheim, Westhofen, and Osthofen, tending to every plot with great care. You can find more in the Weingut Karl May collection and among our German red wines. The premium single-vineyard Spätburgunder from the Geyersberg awaits you right there.

Pinot Noir Estate Wine – a wine and its values

• Origin: Wine from Germany
• Region: Rheinhessen
• Winery: Weingut Karl May - Fritz and Peter
• Vintage: 2023
• Grape Variety: Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir)
• Screw cap
• 12.5% vol. alcohol
• 5.2 g/l acidity
• 0.6 g/l residual sugar

Organic control body DE-ÖKO-039 – German Agriculture