Altenburg P.C. 2017

The Dr. Bürklin-Wolf winery is located in Wachenheim on the Wine Route in the Pfalz region in Germany. The vineyards are situated in the Mittelhaardt communities of Wachenheim, Forst, Deidesheim and Ruppertsberg. According to the winery, the family tradition dates back to 1597. Bettina Bürklin-von Guradze took over the estate in 1990 and introduced a classification of the wine sites modelled on Burgundy.

The vineyard area covers around 84.70 hectares. With about 82 per cent, Riesling predominates, complemented by around 6 per cent Spätburgunder, 7 per cent Pinot Blanc and 5 per cent other grape varieties. Since 2005, the entire vineyard area has been farmed biodynamically; the preparations used for this are produced by the winery itself.

The winery’s internal site classification takes account of geological and climatic findings and follows the classification principle of Burgundy, as well as the Royal Bavarian wine site classification from 1828. The soils and rocks mentioned include clay, sand, basalt, as well as rubble of clay and limestone. In the vineyards of Forst, volcanic basalt can be found, along with dense layers of clay and sand. The south-easterly slope of Forster Kirchenstück promotes rapid warming of the basalt rock.

The focus is on dry Rieslings in the VDP.GUTSWEIN, VDP.ORTSWEIN, VDP.ERSTE LAGE and VDP.GROSSE LAGE categories. The village wines come exclusively from classified vineyards in Forst, Deidesheim, Ruppertsberg and Wachenheim; the estate Riesling is a cuvée made from Riesling parcels from these four communities. In addition, wines are produced from Spätburgunder and Pinot Blanc. The G.C. Rieslings are fermented with wild yeasts and are matured exclusively in large wooden casks, while the P.C. Rieslings are fermented with wild yeasts and stored in large wooden casks. For the estate Riesling of the 2024 vintage, a selective hand-harvest of healthy, fully ripe grapes and gentle pressing have been documented.