Harteneck reinvents himself
Natural wines from the Markgräflerland
29 November 2020
Werner Elflein
Image: PixabayThe Markgräflerland is considered the Tuscany of Germany. Indeed, certain similarities with the surrounding area of the Italian city of Florence cannot be denied. Climatically, the Markgräflerland is one of the warmest regions in the republic. At the same time, it benefits from sufficient rainfall, which is distributed fairly evenly throughout the year. In addition, there are fertile soils that mostly consist of loess layers. Underneath, there is a variety of different rock formations, from Jurassic and shell limestone to pebbles and red sandstone. The wines are correspondingly diverse. At least potentially. As in other regions of Baden, winegrowing in the Markgräflerland is primarily carried out by the winegrowers' cooperatives which are still struggling with the issue of ecology. Anyone who drives through the vineyards of the “Ländle” during the growing season can hardly miss the consequences of the widespread application of herbicides. The result of the purely mass-yield-oriented cultivation of the vineyards: insignificant wines that show no origin.
Thomas Harteneck takes a different approach. Born in the Palatinate, he settled in Schliengen in 1997 and is one of the pioneers of biodynamic viticulture in Baden. With his winery, he is a member of the Demeter association. Instead of fighting pests with glyphosate and other questionable means of modern chemistry, he trusts the natural balance and uses preparations made from horn manure, valerian flowers, dandelion or oak bark. Healthy and vital soils – for Harteneck an important basis for the production of complex wines: “Soil is alive! Two thirds of the world's species live hidden beneath the earth's surface. And they interact with the plants. These symbioses allow the organically managed vine to bind more nutrients and water from the soil and simply be healthier.” Above ground, a permanent green cover of herbs and flowering plants promotes biodiversity, creates a habitat for insects and establishes the biological balance in the vineyard that contributes decisively to the complexity of the wines.
We have been following Thomas Harteneck's path for almost 15 years. Despite increasing demand, not least from abroad, he has retained his status as an insider tip. In most mainstream publications, the winery is only mentioned in passing, if at all. Wines that challenge and push the boundaries of conventional winemaking are suspect to the tasters. They do not understand the wines, and thus little of the wine itself. Corners and edges would be missing from them, was to be read in a commentary a few years ago. We do not know exactly what the author was trying to tell us, but we are of the opinion that Harteneck's wines do not need any supposed rough edges. Rather, they are the epitome of inner peace and natural harmony. They show complex, but never exuberant or even artificial fruit aromas. Although experts are still reluctant to name the attributes of origin of unsulfured and naturally cloudy wines, we are convinced that these are expressed in Harteneck's wines by all means.
The true complexity of Thomas Harteneck's wines is never revealed at the first sip. They have a profound density of aromas which, when drunk, always opens up further, previously hidden facets and evokes new sensory impressions.
2018 was a year of further development for Thomas Harteneck. A year in which he reinvented himself as a winemaker without becoming unfaithful to his previous style. In addition to classics such as Chasselas, which Harteneck continues to produce in the usual way, the previous premium segment of his range has given way to a series of at most weakly sulfured natural wines. Here, among other things, there is now a “Vollmond” Chasselas, which is produced according to the specifications of the lunar calendar and in compliance with planetary constellations, a mineral “Jurakalk” Auxerrois and, with the Geigenmantel Grauburgunder, a genuine orange wine characterised by high-quality phenols. “Paradies” Merlot and “Diva” Pinot Noir are fruity and juicy red wines that impress with distinctive as well as perfectly polished and balanced tannins. At the top are a Pétillant Naturel and an exceptional red wine cuvée of Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir and Merlot, both named "Mythos".
Admittedly, these natural wines taste anything but conventional. But they are far removed from the distorted image that arose in the minds of sceptical wine drinkers at a time when the production of natural wines was still largely experimental in character. Because quality wine testing still clings to outdated evaluation criteria, Thomas Harteneck now only bottles Badische Landweine and dispenses with the official test number. The lovers of his wines do not care, especially since the current collection is beyond reproach and Harteneck's wines have long been among the very great ones.
The wines at a glance
Thomas Harteneck
Brezelstraße 15
79418 Schliengen
Germany
Phone: +49 7635 8837
Fax: +49 7635 823755
Internet: www.weingut-harteneck.de
E‑mail: info@weingut-harteneck.de
2019 Weißburgunder Landwein trocken
Germany
Badischer Landwein • Geschützte geografische Angabe (g. g. A.)
Lot number 10 20 • 12 % vol alcohol
2019 “Jurakalk” Auxerrois
Germany
Badischer Landwein • Geschützte geografische Angabe (g. g. A.)
Lot number 31 20 • 12.5 % vol alcohol
2019 “Vollmond” Chasselas Landwein
Germany
Badischer Landwein • Geschützte geografische Angabe (g. g. A.)
Lot number 34 20 • 11.5 % vol alcohol
2019 Geigenmantel Grauburgunder
Germany
Badischer Landwein • Geschützte geografische Angabe (g. g. A.)
Lot number 29 20 • 13 % vol alcohol
2019 Rosé fruchtig
Germany
Badischer Landwein • Geschützte geografische Angabe (g. g. A.)
Lot number 36 20 • 11.5 % vol alcohol
2019 “Diva” Pinot Noir
Germany
Badischer Landwein • Geschützte geografische Angabe (g. g. A.)
Lot number 35 20 • 12.5 % vol alcohol
2018 Gutedel Landwein trocken
Germany
Badischer Landwein • Geschützte geografische Angabe (g. g. A.)
Lot number 3 19 • 11.5 % vol alcohol
2018 “Mythos”
Germany
Lot number 32 18 • 14.5 % vol alcohol
2018 “Mythos”
Germany
Badischer Landwein • Geschützte geografische Angabe (g. g. A.)
Lot number 33 19 • 14.5 % vol alcohol
2018 “Paradies” Merlot
Germany
Badischer Landwein • Geschützte geografische Angabe (g. g. A.)
Lot number 21 19 • 14.5 % vol alcohol
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. |