Kallstadt Pinot Noir – 2022

Kallstadt Spätburgunder 2022 from Weingut Rings goes into the vat without a pump

Kallstadt Spätburgunder 2022 from Weingut Rings is a dry village wine from the cool vineyards around Kallstadt. The grapes fall into the fermentation tank solely by their own weight, without being transported there by a pump.

Kallstadt Spätburgunder 2022, as a VDP.Ortswein, holds the same classification and style as its predecessor from the previous year. The meager limestone soils are the same, though the handwriting of this vintage feels a touch less austere. At 13.0 percent alcohol, it sits lean in the glass without ever feeling thin.

Bright tone, fine tannins, and a chalky tension

This wine relies less on its fruit than on its structure, which is why it is worth tasting on its own first, without food. The red berry fruit remains bright and restrained; at no point does it push itself to the fore. What you are looking for here is not found in the first sip, but in the third.

The defining factor is the tannin, which runs fine-grained across the tongue and holds the wine together like a taut cloth. Beneath that runs a chalky thread, originating from the limestone marl beneath the vines, giving the wine its cool direction.

The finish leaves behind a dry grip that does not fatigue the palate, but rather makes it long for the next bite. Structured this way, this red will effortlessly survive a few years in the cellar.

With braised chicken leg and root vegetables

Because its tannins remain fine and its fruit bright, this village wine pairs well with dishes that are seasoned rather than heavy.

Obvious choices include a long-braised chicken leg with bay leaf, colorful root vegetables from the oven, or a poultry terrine with pickled onions on the side. Even a bowl of lentil soup with a spoonful of mustard gets along well with it, as it picks up on the earthiness there.

It does not need a decanter, but an hour at cool room temperature clearly does it good. Those looking for a step up will find the same limestone with sharper definition in the Steinacker, and the entire range can be found in the Wine section.

Gravity instead of pumps

After being hand-harvested, the grapes are sorted a second time at the winery; then, instead of being sent through hoses into the fermentation vat, they fall into it from above. That sounds like a small detail, yet it is the decision upon which the character of this wine hinges.

A pump forces the mash through narrow pipes, during which berries burst, seeds are bruised, and skins are crushed. What then flows into the vat has already surrendered a portion of its tannins unbidden—specifically the coarse ones first.

If, however, the berries fall into the tank whole, fermentation begins slowly and from the inside out, as many berries initially remain intact. In warm years, Rings also leaves a small portion of the grapes un-destemmed, which gives the wine additional freshness.

The yield is 3,800 liters per hectare, and in the cellar, it spends 18 months in barriques, just under a third of which are new wood. Afterwards, it is bottled without fining and without additives.

Kallstadt Spätburgunder 2022 – a red wine and its specifications

• Origin Germany
• Growing region Pfalz
• Winery Rings
• VDP.Ortswein
• Grape variety Spätburgunder
• 13.0% vol alcohol
• 0.1 g/l residual sugar
• 5.9 g/l acidity

Organic control number – DE-ÖKO-022 German Agriculture