Fumé Sauvignon Blanc – 2021

Markus Schneider – Kaitui Fumé – Barrel-Aged Sauvignon Blanc

The Markus Schneider Kaitui Fumé 2021 is a barrel-aged Sauvignon Blanc from the Pfalz region and a response to the popular Sauvignon Blanc wines from the Loire in France, the Pouilly-Fumé. The term "Fumé," meaning smoked, refers to the flint notes in the wine, which are characteristic of the Loire soils, but can also be recreated through skillful use of oak.

For the Kaitui Fumé Sauvignon Blanc, cool and well-nourished limestone soils at high altitudes in the Pfalz serve as the basis. These grapes have an enormous influence on the exotic fruit characteristics of the popular Sauvignon Blanc. The location, healthy, perfectly ripe harvested grapes, and fermentation and aging in oak barrels are the recipe for success here.

In the glass, the Markus Schneider Kaitui Fumé Sauvignon Blanc shines like the perfectly ripe, quince-yellow berries that were selected after multiple screenings for this special wine. On the nose, in addition to the typical aromas of Sauvignon Blanc such as gooseberry, cassis, and lemongrass, there are plenty of exotic fruit notes of passion fruit, mango, papaya, and physalis, enveloped by pleasant smoky notes that showcase the skillful use of oak. A layered, complex, powerful yet delicate wine that, like its counterparts, great Pouilly Fumé wines, has high aging potential.

Markus Schneider – Winemaking

The 2021 vintage, after several hot preceding years, was a much-anticipated "cool climate vintage." The late budbreak in May, reminiscent of long-past times, was followed by a mixed June and July. But August brought the turnaround and the desired ripeness. The harvest, which lasted until early November, began on September 20, 2021.

The vines for Markus Schneider's Kaitui Fumé are located in the winemaker's oldest Sauvignon Blanc parcel at over 280m above sea level, below the mountainous forest area of the Haardt foothills. This cool, high altitude is dominated by fine calcareous marl and coarse limestone rock, which gives the wine a cool minerality. The grapes for the Kaitui Fumé are hand-harvested ripe in three selective passes on August 31, September 07, and September 13. In the modern winery, the Sauvignon Blanc grapes are selected again. After a short maceration period of 2 hours each, they are pressed under low pressure (tree press principle). After slow fermentation in wood, the young wine remains on the fine lees for several months in 500-liter Tonneau barrels and ceramic amphorae (850 liters).

Kaitui Fumé – a wine and its characteristics

• Origin Wine from Germany
• Growing region Pfalz
• Grape variety Sauvignon Blanc
• 13% vol. alcohol
• 6.7 g/l acidity
• 0.4 g/l residual sugar