Location and Site
The small church tower is a single vineyard site in Bad Neuenahr in the Ahr. The site extends towards the adjacent municipality of Grafschaft and is cut through by a motorway access. The currently classified area lies at around 140 metres above sea level, is oriented to the south and has a slope of roughly 25 per cent. Historical descriptions cite 120 to 160 metres above sea level and steep slopes with an orientation from south-west to south-east.
Climate and Soils
Bad Neuenahr has a mean annual temperature of 10.2 °C, a mean winter temperature of 2.6 °C and around 654 millimetres of annual rainfall. The Ahr lies in the rain shadow of the Eifel. The currently classified site consists of slate covered by a thick layer of loam. For the historical vineyard area, in addition, sloping loam, greywacke, loess and strongly loamy slate soils are described.
Vineyard Area and Grape Varieties
The classified area listed with the VDP comprises 3.44 hectares. A historical municipal description indicates 17 hectares as vineyard land and 9 hectares as planted area. The classified grape varieties are Spätburgunder and Frühburgunder; for the larger historical area, Domina and Portugieser are also mentioned.
Wine and Classification
The wines differ depending on the soil type. The area shaped by slate and loam is associated with powerful, expressive Spätburgunder. The Bad Neuenahr Kirchtürmchen is classified by the VDP as VDP.ERSTE LAGE®. In an update of the Ahr classification, the eastern area was included for a wine in the VDP.GROSSE LAGE® category under the historical site name “Im Kuckstein”, while the western area, which is less exposed to the sun, remained or was reclassified as VDP.ERSTE LAGE®. Historical vineyard plans refer to the site as “An dem Kirchtürmchen”.
