2019 Deutzerhof Heimersheimer Chardonnay

Deutzerhof is located in the German Ahrtal, just over an hour's drive from Venlo. The beautiful mountains with terraces on which the vines are planted form a fantastic backdrop. The slate soil of the Ahr Mountains gives the wines their special character.

The wine company that we now call Deutzerhof was founded in 1574 by Caspar Cossmann. In 1868, his successors joined the very first wine cooperative in the world. In 1952, Alfred Cossmann decided to leave the cooperative and to grow grapes independently again and to market his wines. At that time he owned 2.5 hectares in and around Mayschoss.

In 1977 his only daughter Hella married the baker's son Wolfgang Hehle. Wolfgang had no winemaking experience and was apprenticed to his father-in-law. In 1982 Wolfgang graduated as a wine master and in 1980 the new and current wine company was built. Because there were no successors from the Crossmann family, it was decided to continue the company under the name Deutzerhof.

Wolfgang decided to focus on quality wines. His efforts were rewarded in 1992 with the 'Deutschen Rotweinpreis' from wine magazine Vinum for his 'Caspar C'. In 1994 Deutzerhof was included in the list of VDP wine companies, making it one of the best 100 German wine companies. From that moment on, Germany discovered its wines and top ratings followed, including 4 grapes in the German Gault&Millau guide, 4 stars from Eichelmann, 3.5 stars from Vinum and 93 points from Falstaff.

The company is now led by Hans-Jorg Luchau and Christoph Hoffmann. The current bottle production is 35,000 to 40,000 bottles per year. Part is exported, most goes to the German market.

Deutzerhof has stood for quality and characterful wines for years and is well worth a visit. The philosophy of Deutzerhof is that wine is made in a natural and traditional way. This also applies to plantings in and around the vineyards, where herbs and grasses grow between the vines.

The starting point for the harvest is that the grapes have a good balance between sugar and acids. Picking is done manually and in phases. Vinification is done naturally with spontaneous fermentation and the use of new and old oak barrels for maturation provides the individual terroir taste of Deutzerhof. The result is characterful, unique and high-quality wines of the classic type, which are so characteristic of Deutzerhof.