Winemaker Notes
In the glass, this Pinot Noir is a beautiful dark ruby color. The smoky dark cherry nose is very seductive. Once on the palate the dark cheery and cranberry fruit dance about the smoky slate minerality with notes of leather and coco all with a very fine and silky texture.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
This wine, from the blue Devonian slate of the Ahr valley, has been the Meyer-Näkel calling card for years. Sourced from different parcels in the village of Dernau, it spent 10 months in used barriques and presents a wonderful introduction to Ahr Pinot Noirs. It's a lovely blend of smoke and cherry on the nose, while the palate is slender and shows lots of tart red fruit. The tannins have a gentle grip and the freshness is mouthwatering. Drinking Window 2019 - 2025
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Wine Spectator
A silky and light-bodied red, with notes of smoke and mineral framing the rose hip and violet flavors. With air, this takes a turn, revealing a bit more fruit and complexity. Fine length. Best from 2020 through 2027.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
