Weingut Knipser – Marsannier from Experimental Cultivation
The Knipser Marsannier 2020 is a dry, powerful cuvée of Marsanne and Viognier grape varieties from Weingut Knipser in Laumersheim, Pfalz. The Knipser Marsannier displays juicy fruit beautifully balanced by piquant acidity.
On the nose, it reveals fruity notes of red apples and yellow pear, juicy peach, and ripe apricot, joined by light bitter notes of grapefruit, all enveloped by well-integrated oak. The wine shows power and richness and, despite the ripe grapes, a lively acidity, which makes it a great food companion. It pairs well with rich sauces, pasta with cream sauces and mushrooms, and smoked bacon, as well as with the sweetness of seafood.
This is the sixth vintage of Marsannier, which is not vinified as a dry variety every year. The Knipser Marsannier is a great white wine with aging potential.
Winemaking – Weingut Knipser
The vines for this Marsannier grow in plots of Weingut Knipser characterized by marlstone. It was only in the early 90s that the Knipser brothers planted the two white grape varieties Marsanne and Viognier, originating from the Rhône, in experimental cultivation. Experimental cultivation because these two French grape varieties are not provided for or stipulated in the Pfalz grape variety index, and thus, despite the high quality of the wine, a quality wine cannot be produced from them. This did not bother the Knipsers. They seized the opportunity offered by the EU to import plant material from other European countries to Germany and plant precisely these grape varieties to see what could become of them, also with regard to climate change.
Selective manual harvesting of the grapes in autumn usually takes place in several passes to harvest optimally ripe fruit. At the winery, all grapes are destemmed. The resulting mash is gently pressed in a tank press. Fermentation takes place spontaneously in new Burgundy barriques, where the long aging on fine lees also occurs until bottling in late summer 2024.
Marsannier – a wine and its values
- Origin: Wine from Germany
- Growing region: Pfalz
- Weingut Knipser
- Grape variety: 61% Marsanne, 39% Viognier
- 13.5% vol alcohol
- 6.9 g/l acidity
- 5.9 g/l residual sugar