75210 Keltern-Dietlingen
Germany
http://www.weingut-bischoff.de
Tasting: 2014-03-29
For my first entry about a German winery I decided to visit the winery of Claus Bischoff in Keltern in Baden-Wuerttemberg. The reason for this decision was quite simple: I have only 10 minutes to drive from home to the tasting room:-). But also I was curious about the quality of the wines of a winery which produce their wine since 1990 (!) completely ecologically. Furthermore all wines of Claus Bischoff and his son Robin are vegan. So I expected a “typical” ecological winery with some nice wines but not more. I was totally on the wrong trail.
When I arrived at the cozy tasting room (the former barn of the winery) I was welcomed by Robin Bischoff. We spoke a little bit about wine, the area and mainly the winery. The date of my visit was well chosen. The new vintage should be bottled in the following two weeks. So it was possible for me to taste the whole range of the current vintage but also the wines from the new one directly from the barrel and / or the stainless steel tanks. During the whole tasting (nearly two hours) a lot of other visitors said Hello and were hosted by Claus Bischoff. All these people seem to be regular customers and guests which is a good indication of the wine’s quality.
Robin Bischoff split the tasting in three parts. First the white wines of the current vintage, then the white wines of the new vintage and finally the current release of the red ones and the wineries Rosé. As an add-on I was allowed to taste the 2011 Solaris – the dessert wine of the winery.
Robin Bischoff is 38 years old; his father Claus 60. Both are career changers. Claus Bischoff – a former businessman – bought in 1979 the winery with at this time one hectare. Today they have five hectares; the yearly production is 40,000 bottles. Since 2005 Claus Bischoff is supported by his son Robin. It should be mentioned that the viniculture in Keltern has an age-long history. Already the Romans brought the wine to this area which is separated into the “Dietlinger Kleppberg” and the ”Ellmendinger Keulebuckel”. Most of the wines within this area are made by cooperatives, but the Bischoffs produce their wine on their own. Besides the Solaris all in a dry style. All grapes are hand-selected.
First part:
- 2012 Rivaner (6.50 €; 8.95 $)
- 2012 Weißer Burgunder (8.20 €; 11.30 $)
- 2012 Chardonnay (9.50 €; 13.10 $; sold-out)
- 2011 Grauer Burgunder (9.50 €; 13.10 $)
What became already obvious during the first part of the tasting: The wines of Robin and Claus Bischoff are real bargains. The Rivaner (Mueller-Thurgau) offers a light grass-yellow with a nice aroma of green apricots which is also present in the medium-long finish. Due to the nature of this grape the acidity dominates but in a very harmonic way. Sounds banal: but a perfect partner for asparagus (I think you know about the German craze about asparagus ….). And exactly for this I bought two bottles:-). Unfortunately it is the last vintage of this wine. In the future the Bischoffs follow the trend for a white wine blend where the Rivaner grapes will be a part of it.
The three Burgundian style wines are totally different. The Weiße Burgunder (Pinot blanc) has a nice grey-yellow without any veils. Nice lemon aromas, also in the medium-long finish. The golden-yellow Chardonnay offers in the nose banana and pineapple aromas. In the mouth the bananas dominate in the beginning, but in the super-long finish the pineapples again come back to the foreground. Superb! The Graue Burgunder (Pinot gris) has a more dark-yellow colour. The aroma is dominated by honey melon and the wine is very creamy. Also long finish. Yummie.
After this very impressive start Robin brought me to the fermenting cellar where I could check the quality of the 2013 whites. We started with the Chardonnay and Robin explained that different from the 2012 Chardonnay 40 % French oak was used. In 2012 it was 30 % American oak. For demonstration I got a little bit from the barrel for a first sip. Then a little bit from the stainless steel tank was added. And indeed the 2013 Chardonnay is more mineral; a little bit salty on the lips. So far the Bischoffs have not finally decided how the blend will look like.
After that we tasted the Blanc de Noirs from the Schwarzriesling (Pinot meunier), the Riesling (tropical fruits, lychees) and finally the Sauvignon Blanc. And this one was outstanding. Kiwi, gooseberry, more New Zealand style. Quite clear: For 12.50 € (17.20 $) this wine will be sold out in warp.
Back to the tasting room we started with the next part:
- 2012 Rosé (8.00 €; 11.00 $)
- 2011 Rotwein-Cuvée (12.90 €; 17.80 $; sold out)
- 2012 Spaetburgunder (26.50 €; 36.50 $)
- 2011 Cuvée Cabernet “Weinteufel” (24.00 €; 33.00 $)
The problem here was that the winery is currently nearly sold out with reds. However the remaining examples were very good. The Rosé is made from Pinot meunier and Regent. The last one is a PIWI only growing in Germany. The wine has a color like raspberry drops with strawberry aromas. A real nice summer wine. Next we came to the first of the two tasted Cabernet blends. For both blends the Bischoffs are using PIWIs, too: Cabernet Cortis, Cabernet Carbon and Cabernet Carol. According to Robin the Cabernet Sauvignon is not really suited for the area. The first blend already shows that the decision was good to prepare the blend with the chosen varietals. Dark ruby red with aromas of black cherry and blackberry. Fruity with a strong backbone. Still young.
Before we came to the premium blend – the Weinteufel (means Wine Devil) – we tasted the Spaetburgunder (Pinot noir). Here the Bischoffs prefer the classical style: Medium cherry red with spicy aromas. Medium-long finish with red fruits at the end. A wine to reflect. The Weinteufel at the end then shows the potential of the Bischoff wine. Still a baby. Already drinkable but two additional years in the cellar would improve the fun for sure. Again dark ruby red with aromas of cowberries, black currant and cinnamon. Excellent.
With this wine a remarkable tasting was finished. I bought in total 15 bottles for me and 12 for my brother. Was not planned in the morning:-). Before I left Robin told me that with the new vintage the Bischoffs will change the presentation strategy and style. They will then offer three different lines of wine with new labels
- Edition: Straightforward, easy-to-drink wines
- Tradition: Wines made from traditional varietals to demonstrate a certain wine style
- Selektion: Wines of the premium category
I will be back definitely to check out these three lines when bottled. I want to finish with a statement of Robin which is as remarkable as the Bischoff wines: “Producing a good red wine is not so difficult, producing an outstanding white is the masterpiece.” There is nothing more to say.
The winery Claus Bischoff is open on Saturdays between 10:00 am and 12:30 pm or by appointment. Keltern is nearby the city of Pforzheim which itself is 22mi northwest of Stuttgart. This place is really worth to visit: the location, the wines and mainly the people behind this.
