Weingut Blankenhorn has been established winery in the most southern corner of Baden, the southwest of Germany. This corner is the point where three countries, Germany, France and Switzerland come together and influences both climate and chosen grape varieties. Fritz Blankenhorn founded the winery in 1847, but sadly after many generations, there was no one to take over in 2014. Luckily this was bringing up a new opportunity for emerging wine makers to put Weingut Blankenhorn back on the wine map!
In different wine regions across the world, especially in rural areas, we find that young people tend to move towards the higher density of urban areas to live and work. Wineries tend to get abandoned, even in the most prestigious wine regions. Fortunately, in the case of Blankenhorn, Martin Männer seized the opportunity and took over the winery. Martin has been working as a lawyer with a deep found passion for wine making, thanks to his uncle, he decided to make his hobby into a career. Even though the experience in winemaking was still to be gained, the enthusiasm and sharp vision made more than up for it! The result today is a winery that has been reinvented, including with an event location and prestigious wine bar!
The region of Markgräflerland enjoys a similar climate like the nearby Alsace in France, with the Vosges holding off most rainfalls and cold winds allowing more sunshine and heat, ensuring the grapes can reach full ripeness. The Black Forest on the other side and the nearby rivers are making the region slightly cooler compared to the Alsace and even the northern German region of the Kaiserstuhl. The clay, calcareous sandstone and limestone found in the terroir can be compared to soil types found in the Côte d’Or in Burgundy. This combination of factors leads to a long history of planting Burgundy varieties like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that, due to the slightly cooler climate, can lead to very redefined results. A lot of Alsace varieties are found as well, mostly Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc. The real star of the region, however, has to be the Chasselas grape! This is an old Alpine variety that finds its origin around the lake of Geneva, where it is mainly referred to under the name Fendant. The region of Markgräflerland was in loan of the marquis of Basel that planted the region with Chasselas by the end of the 1700s and the grape has never left the region since. The grape can sometimes be viewed as a rather neutral character, leading to the possibility of creating many different styles and winemaking techniques. In fact, when the wine enjoys a fermentation on stainless steel tanks, with a higher focus on freshness and acidity, the grape tends to be called ‘Gutedel’, when the wine enjoys longer aging on the lees, battonage and aging on oak, the grape tends to be called ‘Chasselas’. This clearly differentiating the two styles in the German region made of the same variety.
With the pleasure of tasting Markgräfler Gutedel, Schliengener Kirchberg Erste Lage Chasselas ‘Le Clocher’ and Schliengen Chasseles Courage. This line up really shows the difference in potential the Chasselas grape can accomplish. To be expected the Gutedel is the most crisp and mineral style of the three. Acidity levels of Chasselas in general are never very high, but the more refreshing style of the Gutedel leads fresh aromas like green apple, lemon and lime, but for me it was the mineral notes such as wet stone and flint that firstly sprung to mind. The wine has been aged on the lees and that gives us secondary aromas such as bread dough and yogurt. The single block Chasselas of Le Clocher is aged for 10 months on the lees in Austrian oak leading to creamy results and notes of cheese, yogurt, vanilla, overripe apple and burned hazelnuts hinting towards beginning ripening notes.
The Courage Chasselas being vintage 2021 giving us a wide range of mostly secondary and tertiary aromas such as hazel and almond nuts, vanilla, butter, dried apricots, orange peel and even a touch of banana. The palate does reflect more on the primary notes, which shows us the complexity and aging potential of this wine!
The diversity of this grape variety leads to many options in terms of food matching, looking at the local cuisine of the greater Baden region, we can find some interesting pairings. Thinking of both Le Clocher and Courage, you can match it with richer dishes like Maultaschen, a type of ravioli filled with meat, spinach and served with broth or fried eggs. Schupfnudeln are a thicker type of noodles made with potato dough and served with sauerkraut and bacon, will match the richness of both wines. For with the Gutedel a grilled trout will do the trick any day of the week!
Weingut Blankenhorn is had been working biodynamically for the past three years and recently also produced a low- alcohol Chasselas wine of under 9% abv, reached by early picking and leaving a touch of residual sugar in the wine.
The Weingut is always open to visitors where Martin himself can explain everything there is to know about his winery, region and his beautiful Chasselas grapes. He is constantly evolving and reinventing himself. To put it in his words: “My journey into wine is far from over!”
Visit Martin at Weingut Blankenhorn:
Basler Strasse 2
79418 Schliengen
Germany
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