Location and municipality
Herxheim near Landau is located in the southern Palatinate between the River Rhine and the edge of the Haard in the Upper Rhine Graben. The municipality covers 29.11 km² and includes, alongside Herxheim, the district of Hayna. The wine-growing area Pfalz extends from the foothills of the Palatinate Forest and the Haard edge into the Vorderpfalz plain.
Soils and climate
Herxheim lies on fertile loess soils. In the wine-growing area Pfalz, loess and loess derivatives are widespread; in addition, Quaternary loams, sands and gravels occur, as well as Tertiary limestone and marl. There, the vineyards lie on average at about 170 metres above sea level. The average annual temperature is about 10 °C, while during the growing season it is 14.7 °C. Roughly 655 millimetres of precipitation fall each year, and during the growing season around 665,000 Wh/m² of direct sunlight is reached.
Single vineyard Engelsberg
The Engelsberg is an official single vineyard in Herxheim near Landau within the wine-growing area Pfalz, South Wine Route and Großlage Herrlich. The vineyard directory lists 25.5 hectares of planted vineyard area for the Herxheim cadastral district. Documented wines include dry Riesling, Grauburgunder and Spätburgunder, which are referred to as Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete.
Grape varieties and ageing
In a documented 25-are plot of Engelsberg, in 2012 half of the vines were planted with Solaris and half with Cabaret Noir. Before planting, thorough soil cultivation took place and composted horse manure was incorporated; chemical plant protection and mineral fertiliser were dispensed with. The target yield was 50 to 60 hectolitres per hectare. A Grauburgunder was developed predominantly in stainless steel and in a smaller part in wood, while a Spätburgunder was hand-harvested and matured in wooden casks.
