Finally ortsweine!

Paradigm shift at Dr. Heger

15 July 2020
Werner Elflein

View from the Ihringen Winklerberg

Unlike others in the wine business, Joachim Heger from Ihringen has always strictly and consistently separated his wine lines. While the Dr. Heger winery almost exclusively offers wines from the single vineyards of the Kaiserstuhl, which are characterised by volcanic rock, the Weinhaus Joachim Heger primarily processes the grapes grown on loess soil from a producer association. Recently, however, the winery put four bottlings on sale for the first time as Ihringer ortsweine without indicating the single vineyard. We have tasted them.

What is …
… an ortswein?

In the Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter (VDP), ortsweine come from the best vineyards of a village according to own assessment. They are intended to give a first impression of the idea of a precise origin. However, since not every village has distinctive soil structures and microclimates that are reflected in an ortswein, there is generally no question of a tangibly clear origin. The ortswein category is therefore probably the most controversial within the so-called quality pyramid of the VDP.

All four wines cut a good figure and are convincing. In terms of value, however, there are gradations that can also be found in the pricing. The Silvaner, which is positioned just above the ten-euro mark, is a little more simply structured than its three counterparts, although it too, as a representative of the lighter weight class, can convey drinking pleasure.

The opulent and creamy Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris, both from the hot 2018, would undoubtedly hold their own in blind tastings, even among sophisticated vineyard wines. The finely structured 2016 Pinot Noir follows on seamlessly from this good level.

The wines at a glance

Dr. Heger

Bachenstraße 19/21
79241 Ihringen
Germany
Phone: +49 7668 205
Fax: +49 7668 9300
Internet: www.heger-weine.de
E‑mail: info@heger-weine.de

Portrait and all wines

WinewhitedryGrüner Silvaner

2019 Ihringen Silvaner Qualitätswein trocken

VDP.ORTSWEIN®

Germany

Baden • Geschützte Ursprungsbezeichnung (g. U.)

Amtliche Prüfungsnummer 311 7 20 • 12.5 % vol alcohol

14🯅

Tasted on 17 June 2020 by Werner Elflein

Pale yellow. Delicately spicy, planty and youthful scent of melon, still marked by the primary fruit. On the palate with creaminess on the one hand, but also with a ripe, vital acidity as a tension curve. Good length.

WinewhitedryWeißer Burgunder

2018 Ihringen Weißburgunder Qualitätswein trocken

VDP.ORTSWEIN®

Germany

Baden • Geschützte Ursprungsbezeichnung (g. U.)

Amtliche Prüfungsnummer 311 3 20 • 14 % vol alcohol

15🯅

Tasted on 16 June 2020 by Werner Elflein

Greenish, light straw yellow. Fresh, planty and slightly buttery fragrance with subtle nuances of yellow fruit. Strong body, creamy and fine spicy, soft acidity, excellent balance, very good length. Unfolds fully with a good half-hour of air contact.

WinewhitedryRuländer

2018 Ihringen Grauburgunder Qualitätswein trocken

VDP.ORTSWEIN®

Germany

Baden • Geschützte Ursprungsbezeichnung (g. U.)

Amtliche Prüfungsnummer 311 4 20 • 14 % vol alcohol

15.5🯅

Tasted on 16 June 2020 by Werner Elflein

Greyish yellow with delicate rosé. In the nose with fine wood spice and scent of roasted hazelnut, yellow and green apple. Powerful and creamy on the palate, yet refreshing, vital and not satiating. Very well balanced. Excellent length.

WinereddryBlauer Spätburgunder

2016 Ihringen Spätburgunder Qualitätswein trocken

VDP.ORTSWEIN®

Germany

Baden • Geschützte Ursprungsbezeichnung (g. U.)

Amtliche Prüfungsnummer 311 27 19 • 13.5 % vol alcohol

15🯅

Tasted on 18 June 2020 by Werner Elflein

Slightly cloudy cherry red with medium transparency. Fine, cool fragrance of red berries, mainly raspberry. On the tongue with a sweetish fruit component and fine- to coarse-grained tannins, which seem a little brittle at first, but harmonise on the breath. The elegance keeps the upper hand. Good length.

Symbols

🯅	The rating of the wine is based on a single taster. The taster is named in the context of the rating. The tasting was either open or blind. In case of a blind tasting, it is explicitly labelled as such.
🯅🯅	The rating of the wine is based on two tasters. The tasters are named in the context of the rating. The tasting was carried out according to the four-eyes principle, in which both tasters agree on a joint rating.
🯅🯅🯅	The rating is based on a tasting by our jury and indicates the Mean value calculated by us from the individual ratings of the tasters. Our mean value is based on the median.
⚖	The wine was evaluated in a blind tasting. We have strict rules for blind tastings. The tasters do not receive any information that would allow them to identify the wines. The tasters are only given access to further information that goes beyond the subject matter if it is absolutely necessary for understanding the wines.
🕓	We only had limited time to taste the wine - typically during an open tasting event, such as a wine fair. It was therefore not possible to observe the development of the wine in the glass over a longer period of time. The informative value of our rating may therefore be limited under certain circumstances.
⛬	The wine was tasted as a barrel sample or before an official test number (Amtliche Prüfungsnummer or Staatliche Prüfnummer) was issued. We only accept samples of unfilled wines in exceptional cases, and then only if we can assume sufficient stability in the bottle for a period of at least three months.
▲	During our tasting, the wine showed conspicuous sensory characteristics. This does not necessarily have to be a wine fault. We categorise the quality and quantity of the abnormality and include it in the rating. Wine faults such as cork taint or an atypical ageing generally lead to a complete rejection.
	Tastings that refer to the same bottle of a wine are visually summarised by a dotted line.

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Finally ortsweine!

Paradigm shift at Dr. Heger

The wines at a glance

Symbols