Raumland Sekt – Cuvée Katharina Brut Nature

The Raumland Sekt Cuvée Katharina 2020 is a Blanc de Noir Brut Nature, meaning a dry white sparkling wine made from red grapes, without any added dosage. First produced in 1993 for the birth of their second daughter Katharina, but because the local agricultural authority would not permit a sparkling wine with the addition "Blanc de Noir" and Volker Raumland didn't want to write "white pressed from red grapes" on the label, it was given the beautiful name of the Raumland daughter. Since then, it has been an indispensable part of the Raumland Sekt range.

The current 2020 vintage spent four years on the lees. The Cuvée Katharina is a complex sparkling wine, full-bodied and powerful with good structure and great length. This traditional sparkling wine smells of apple, redcurrants, and figs, shows subtle notes of brioche and walnuts, something lightly smoky from wet stone, and possesses depth. As a Brut Nature, this Cuvée is puristic, acidity-driven, and taut, also exhibiting a slight creaminess and fresh texture.

With its uncomplicated finesse and velvety length, Cuvée Katharina is an excellent food companion for fish, crustaceans, and white meat.

Cuvée Katharina – a sparkling wine and its values

• 72% Pinot Noir
• 28% Pinot Meunier
• 12% Vol. Alcohol
• 7 g/l Acidity
• 1.3 g/l Dosage

Awarded – well-rated

• 93 points Gault Millau
• 89 points Eichelmann
• Second place in the Burgundy Sekt category at the Meininger German Sekt Award 2020

Sekthaus Raumland – Sekt Tradition

Sekthaus Raumland from Flörsheim Dalsheim in Rheinhessen produces premium German sparkling wine that stands up to international comparison.

Volker Raumland is the pioneer when it comes to traditional bottle fermentation in Germany. He has done great things for German sparkling wine. Not least, he played a significant role in developing the VDP. SEKT.STATUT manifesto in cooperation with the VDP. Sekthaus Raumland was the first pure sparkling wine estate to become a member of the VDP. Now, the second generation, daughters Marie-Luise and Katharina, are ready to take over. Now, female power sparkles in the glass.

The grapes for the Raumland Sekt of the Tradition line come from organically cultivated vineyards; they are 100% hand-picked, followed by gentle whole-bunch pressing, and the base wines are not filtered. After selective blending, the bottles age for at least 36 months, or three years, according to the Méthode Traditionnelle, meaning the second fermentation takes place in the bottle, on the lees. Heartfelt dedication, craftsmanship, and devotion best describe these wonderfully effervescent, elegant, finessed, and subtly fruity traditional sparkling wines.

In the Cuvée Katharina, the focus is on Pinot Noir (Spätburgunder) and Pinot Meunier, also known as Schwarzriesling. The Pinot Noir grapes for this traditional sparkling wine grow on almost 30-year-old vines in the Dalsheimer Bürgel vineyard on Terra Fusca, a clay-rich, dense soil with limestone-brown loess, in Rheinhessen.

Gentle pressing, the aging of the base wines (72% in stainless steel and 28% in wooden barrels), malolactic fermentation, second fermentation in the bottle, and long lees aging are prerequisites for this quality, a complex aroma spectrum, and the special fine effervescence of their sparkling wines.

"Despite numerous weather extremes and unusual weather patterns, the 2020 sparkling wine year will be remembered for a long time. The year started with a long, rather wet winter. This allowed the soils to store a lot of water, which was extremely beneficial for the hot 'summer of records'. The often-titled 'century summer' was eventually sunny and dry. The exceptional conditions led to excellent qualities with 100% healthy grapes, which produced very clear and approachable sparkling wines. Emotionally, too, we set a milestone for the following decades in 2020 by starting with the second generation. We couldn't be happier," the Raumlands describe the current vintage.

"Good taste is not objective – it is not measurable. It has taken many years of patience and countless attempts to get closer to the big goal in small steps: to achieve the optimum from the variety of our grape varieties, traditional methods, and currently available possibilities. That is our vision, which challenges us anew every day," the Raumland family knows exactly.