Germany Chardonnay
Climate change is rewriting the story of Chardonnay in Germany. Once a fringe player in the vineyards due to the country's brisk climate, Chardonnay now stands among Germany's most rapidly rising premium white grapes.
Warmer average temperatures have stretched the growing season and nudged key milestones like budburst, flowering and harvest forward. As an early-budding, early-ripening grape, Chardonnay now ripens with a reliability that was rare thirty years ago, yielding wines with richer fruit flavours and fuller body.
In sum, climate change has turned Germany into a promising home for top-tier Chardonnay, elevating it from a niche experiment to a star among premium grapes. Yet, the future of German Chardonnay hinges on how well growers can navigate the wild swings of weather, from sudden frosts to drought, heatwaves and heavy rains.
Visiting a number of estates in Germany a couple of months ago, there is one that stood out with a wine that lovers of Chablis might find a very enjoyable as well as being an exceptional value item.
Dautel is a family that can trace its roots in wine back over 25 generations. Located in Württemberg, this region is Germany’s fourth-largest wine region, it is a rural, hilly region adjacent to Baden and south of Franken. Riesling is the dominant variety, but Christian Dautel, the current head of the family and the winemaker, has ambitions to experiment.
Over dinner at the winery we tasted 22 wines. They were all very good or outstanding. There are only a handful of estates that I have visited over the decades that had such a strong range across everything that was served. Amongst that deliciously tempting array was a Chardonnay sold by Ripley Wines in the UK for £27.45 from the 2021 vintage. The weather during the middle of 2021 did not look good. However, September was near perfect, and the grapes reached excellent levels of ripeness ahead of the harvest.
2021 Sonnenberg Chardonnay, Weingut Dautel
The nearly five years since the harvest has allowed this wine to integrate and all the flavours work in perfect harmony. Green apple, melon and citrus fruits sit comfortably on the palate. Light fragrances from the cool climate conditions, nothing too obvious: delicate and subtle. The palate is alive with hints of lemon and grapefruit, light touches of minerality, a hint of oak, spicy on the mid-tongue, nutty flavours. Refinement, not showy, a glass to enjoy by itself or alongside cold poached salmon this summer. Certainly a wine that surprises guests when you inform them it comes from Germany.
£27.44 - Ripley Wines - merchant link
Chardonnay is not the only varietal to seen a change in fortune: consistent, high quality Pinot Noir is also a winner. More research needed.
