Schlossgut Diel Pinot Noir Caroline Nahe 2020 750 ML

Much has been written about the successful continuation of the Diel Castle Estate since Caroline Diel took over the reins there. After his visit last year, Stephan Reinhardt wrote of the “Cuvee Caroline”: “The father’s homage to his daughter only came of age through her.” And even dad Armin Diel, certainly one of the most important figures in German winemaking, proudly sums up his daughter’s wines: “Our wines have never been better than they are today!”The foundation for this cuvee, a homage to Caroline since the 2001 vintage, was of course laid by her father. He too was guided by the virtues of French wine culture. It is no wonder that Pinot Noir also held an important place for him. Today, Caroline takes care of her own personal cuvee. She has refined it over the years. For this top-quality wine, the grapes are selectively hand-picked and mostly destemmed on the day of the harvest and fermented in large wooden vats. A maceration lasting several days, with regular pounding of the pomace, brings a fine fruit into the wine, which then only finds its harmony and tension in the small oak barrel over 18 to 20 months. The idea remains that this is a selection that is determined barrel by barrel in the cellar, with this Cuvee Caroline representing the “grand vin” of the house, i.e. always the best Pinot Noir barrels from the Burg Layer sites.With the 2020 vintage, which we still value very much, we have a wonderful representative of a Pinot Noir that has a certain basic maturity, but has a rather lighter character overall. The rosehip-red color already indicates this. The bouquet combines a lot of berry fruit, especially red cherries and heart cherries. The fruit is literally fanned out by the wooden barrel aging without the influence of roasted notes, and with increasing contact with air, the fine aroma of wild strawberries is revealed, which then literally float out of the glass. On the palate, the Pinot Noir has fine tannins and light notes reminiscent of nettles. With this barrel selection of wines that have previously been matured on a plot-by-plot basis, the focus is always on finesse and elegance, so that self-confessed “power drinkers” may find the Reserve more enjoyable. The comparison with supposed role models from Burgundy is obvious, because the finesse of the great wines is obvious here. But the grapes for the “Hommage” do not grow on limestone and clay but – and this is what makes it so exciting and unique – on slate!