Chardonnay Brut Nature 2016 - a Winemaker's Sparkling Wine from Weedenborn
The Weedenborn Chardonnay Brut Nature 2016 is a brilliant golden-yellow, finely sparkling winemaker's sekt made from Chardonnay grapes. Following the example of French Champagne, it was traditionally fermented in the bottle and aged for more than four years on the lees. It was hand-riddled, and the disgorgement was also done by hand. As a Brut Nature, the Chardonnay Sekt was corked without the addition of any dosage. Almost like a Blanc de Blanc Champagne, yet from one of Germany's best Sekt houses.
Its fruity bouquet with ripe pear, honeydew melon, and a hint of nut and caramel displays the typical full-bodied Burgundy note of Chardonnay. The origin of the grapes brings chalky minerality to the Chardonnay Sekt Brut Nature from Weingut Weedenborn.
Chardonnay Sekt from Weingut Weedenborn
The grapes for this Weedenborn Chardonnay Sekt Brut Nature 2016 grew on calcareous marl and loess-loam soils in Rheinhessen. Weingut Weedenborn is located in Monzernheim, a small hillside community not far from the famous Westhofen vineyards of Kirchspiel and Morstein. This artisan family winery owns 22 hectares of vines.
A biodiverse ground cover with special seedings of grasses and herbs, as well as the renunciation of herbicides, insecticides, and mineral fertilizers, the natural care of the vines, low yields, and healthy and fully ripe grapes are fundamental prerequisites and philosophy for winemaker Gesine Roll.
For the base wines from 2016 for the Chardonnay Sekt, the winemaker pays attention to the ripeness of the grapes. After manual harvesting, the grapes were processed with dry ice to protect the must from oxidation. This is important to Gesine Roll from Weingut Weedenborn for Chardonnay, as the typical Burgundy aromas are highly volatile on contact with oxygen – meaning they are quickly lost. Once the base wine is produced, everything else is done in collaboration with Sekthaus Raumland, which is only about 11 km away. Here, the Chardonnay base wine undergoes a second alcoholic fermentation in traditional bottle fermentation, and the Weedenborn Chardonnay Sekt is created. It had more than four years to mature on the lees, developing aromas and fine perlage. This makes this Weedenborn Sekt a true pleasure.