Dr Bürklin-Wolf Riesling Forster ‘Kirchenstück’ Grand Cru MAGNUM 2021

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

The Kirchenstück Vineyard – The Montrachet of the Pfalz

It is impossible to overstate the importance of the Kirchenstück (Church Piece) vineyard site for viticulture in the Pfalz. Surrounded by other famous vineyard sites of the town of Forst, such as the Jesuitengarten, Ungeheuer or Pechstein, this vineyard, which is only 3.6 hectares in extent, holds an outstanding position. In the royal Bavarian vineyard classification of 1828, the Kirchenstück was the only vineyard site to be rated with the maximum score of 65 points. It is said that two centuries before this in the Thirty Years of War, the Spanish general Fragipani expressed his reverence for this site, and ordered his soldiers to show their respect for this vineyard site by saluting it.

The Kirchenstück site in Forst is a gift of nature, unique in Germany in its complexity and distinctiveness. Nowhere else does a dry Riesling grow with greater complexity and at the same time with such elemental power and expression. This wine develops slowly at first, only after years of bottle ageing does it reveal its inner values to the wine connoisseur, which make this wine a true masterpiece: the unique terroir character, interwoven with the vintage characteristics, revealed through the careful treatment of our cellar master.

This wine combines body and power with beguiling elegance, a wealth of concentrated aromas is combined with the most elegant brilliance. The final „Wagnerian“ chord on the finish appears to disappear into eternity, and leaves many a taster simply speechless. A wine that cannot be appreciated in a passing moment.

This jewel of our appellations is the shining beacon that defines everything we do at the estate. It represents as no other site our constant striving for outstanding quality on our wine estate.

About Dr Bürklin-Wolf

The Bürklin-Wolf estate is based in the Mittelhaardt, the quality core of Germany’s world-renowned Pfalz, around the towns of Wachenheim, Forst, Deidesheim and Ruppertsberg. Here with 85ha under vine they have the largest family owned wine estate in all of Germany originating in 1597, with a treasure-trove of superb vineyards, at the centre of which lies the great Kirchenstück. Here in the tiny village of Forst, Kirchenstück and its neighbours Jesuitengarten, Ungeheuer and Pechstein, have for centuries been recognised as producing not only some of the world’s greatest dry Rieslings, but simply some of the world’s greatest wines. In the nineteenth century, prices for these wines exceeded the prices paid for 1st Growth Bordeaux and Grand Cru Burgundy.

“This estate has consistently produced some of the finest dry rieslings of any given vintage from an incredible arsenal of excellent vineyards. One of the first estates in Germany to embrace biodynamic viticulture, Burklin-Wolf is now able give each wine its own voice …

Stephen Tanzer

In the Vineyard

In 1990 Bürklin-Wolf began reviewing their vineyard holdings in the context of the 1828 Royal Bavarian Land Tax Classification and after years of exhaustive research they discovered that today’s top vineyards are substantially the same as those identified back in 1828. Today they have adopted a Burgundian model with four tiers: Estate, Village, PC (code for Premier Cru) and GC (for Grand Cru). They are focussed on dry, terroir-driven wines and no longer routinely produce the Kabinett and Spätlese styles defined by the (still current) 1971 German Wine Law.

In the Winery

Hand harvest and whole-bunch pressing with oxidative handling of the juices into mostly large old foudre for fermentation with indigenous yeast on fine lees for nearly 6 months for the entry level and village wines and 12 months for PC wines and up to 18 months for GC wines.

The 2021 Vintage at Dr Bürklin-Wolf

Oskar’s commentary from 8min30s highlights his deep understanding of balance in the context of a higher acid vintage. It mirrors my winemaking experience. High acid years can appear out of balance for a period after release, when they are backed by high quality fruit it’s just a matter of patience as the resolve and fall into balance revealing their true beauty.

“2021 is a classic German vintage,” says Steffen Brahner from Bürklin-Wolf, remembering the cool spring with its late flowering. The summer months brought abundant rainfalls, which challenged the vineyard crew, as even more attention and precision with the vegetation was required than in a dry year. “On the other hand, after three consecutive dry years, the periodic rainfall did the soils of the Mittelhaardt good to compensate for the pronounced water deficit.” A similarly wet autumn forced them into meticulously early negative selection, and then they proceeded on a vineyard-by-vineyard basis in order to achieve the ideal ripeness of the grapes. This obviously paid off, and Bürklin was able to harvest healthy, ripe and flavorful grapes in all of the vineyards.

Stephen Reinhardt, The Wine Advocate

Where in the World is Dr Bürklin-Wolf?

The vineyards of Dr Bürklin-Wolf are in the heart of the Pfalz.

The German VDP has an excellent interactive map covering the wine growing regions of Germany. Click on the Map to go to the live version.