Weingut Martin Wassmer in Bad Krotzingen-Schlatt has 4 (out of 5) grapes in the Gault Millau WeinGuide Deutschland 2018 and belongs to the group of the top 100 wine producers in Germany. Weingut Martin Wassmer is not a member of the VDP, the association of about 200 elite winemakers in Germany. Interestingly, there is another Weingut Wassmer, owned and run by Martin's brother Fritz Wassmer, which also has 4 (out of 5) grapes in the Gault Millau WeinGuide Deutschland 2018 and which belongs to the group of the top 100 wine producers in Germany.
We got into contact with Weingut Martin Wassmer through the German Embassy in Washington DC. Weingut Martin Wassmer does not yet but would very much like to export to the US. Our friend, the Agricultural Minister at the German Embassy contacted asked us if we knew an importer that might be interested in the wine portfolio of Weingut Martin Wassmer.
Jürgen Maier, Sales and Export, was our host. Martin Wassmer was pouring his wines at an event in Hamburg.
Weingut Martin Wassmer
Weingut Martin Waßmer is located in the Markgräfler Land, close to the Swiss border.
Martin Wassmer, like his brother Fritz, is a large and successful asparagus producer. The Waßmer family has been involved in winemaking for many generations but it was only in 1997 that Martin Waßmer founded Weingut Martin Waßmer and started to make his own wine. Martin Wassmer is a trained chef. He did not have any formal training as winemaker. He attended seminars and gained practical experience at other wine estates.
Weingut Martin Wassmer specialises in Pinot Noir, which accounts for 80% of the output. Weingut Martin Wassmer also grows Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Muscat, Gewürztraminer – a nod to neighboring Alsace - and of course Gutedel.
The vineyard area totals 35 hectares, with holdings in Auggen, Laufen and Schlatt (Altenberg, Maltesergarten and Steingrüble sites), including some parcels with extremely old vines.
In terms of Martin Wassmer's winemaking philosophy, all the wines are fermented dry, where possible, natural yeasts are used, and the wines are kept on the lees for as long as possible. Maturation takes place in the tradition and style of Burgundian wines. All the red wines are matured in oak barrels, the best batches are matured in barriques. The wines remain in barrel for 15 to 18 months, during which time all the solids are deposited at the bottom of the barrel, and the wines are not filtered before bottling, wherever possible. The exclusive wines matured in barriques carry the designations „SW” and „R”, the Pinot Noir is labelled „GC”. Bottle-fermented sparkling wines are also produced.
Sue Style on Martin Wassmer
Sue Style: Baden wines are in the news... As a follow-up to my earlier posts on Ziereisen and Fritz Wassmer, Baden for Beginners and Baden for Intermediates – and at the risk of ruining the market even further – it’s time to spill the beans on another top grower: Martin Wassmer in Schlatt, near Bad Krozingen, in the Markgräflerland.
In this stunning sub-region, which stretches from Basel up to Freiburg, the vineyards – most of them planted at the foot of the Black Forest, and forming a mirror image of Alsace’s vineyards in the Vosges foothills across the Rhine – share the space with orchards and asparagus fields. This is novice territory, distinguished by a handful of talented, often self-taught winemakers. Many of them – even those who have recently shot to stardom – have only planted vines and started making wine in the past 20 years.
Martin Wassmer is a classic example. His wines are present on all the top wine lists in Baden-Württemberg (and farther afield) and he’s been on my radar for a while. Earlier this year he scored a Platinum Best in Show award in the 2016 Decanter World Wine Awards for one of his Pinot Noirs. Time for a visit (I love that we live astride 3 borders and can – and do – visit winegrowers in Alsace, Baden and Basel at the drop of a hat).
Like his brother Fritz, he only started adding wine to the asparagus and strawberry portfolio in 1997. Since when he’s been quietly buying up some of the best slopes that no-one else wanted to work any longer because they were too steep. He now owns 35 hectares (87 acres) and has recently built a spanking new winery and tasting room in Schlatt, just across the street from the farm shop. It’s astonishing what a reputation he’s built up for himself and his wines in such a short time.
Tasting
Weingut Martin Wassmer classifies its wines into:
Gutsweine (entry-level wines),
Selektions- & Lagenweine (special selection and single vineyard wines)
Spitzemlagen & GC-Weine (top vineyards and grand cru wines)
SW indicates a yield of less than 25 hectoliters/ hectar.
GC indicates a yield of less than 20 hectoliters/ hectar.
Sekt
2014 Weingut Martin Wassmer Sekt Pinot Rosé
Weiss
Gutsweine
2017 Weingut Martin Wassmer Marktgräflerland Gutedel
2016 Weingut Martin Wassmer Weisser Burgunder
2017 Weingut Martin Wassmer Marktgräflerland Grauer Burgunder
Selektions- & Lagenweine
2016 Weingut Martin Wassmer Schlatter Maltesergarten SW Weisser Burgunder
2016 Weingut Martin Wassmer Marktgräflerland SW Grauer Burgunder
2015 Weingut Martin Wassmer Dottinger Castellberg GC Chardonnay
Sue Style: His Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc) Maltesergarten is a demonstration of what you can do with an unpretentious grape if you really put your heart (and a discreet dose of oak) into it. “Pinot Blanc is a bit of a diva,” he says affectionately, “if you overdo the oak, she flounces out in a fit of pique!” [I’m left wondering why producers across the Rhine don’t try something similar with their Pinot Blanc, a grape which in Alsace is mostly undistinguished, often underripe and destined for Crémant. Maybe some do….note to self to find out.]
His SW Chardonnay from Dottinger Castellberg, Wassmer’s prime site (he calls it a Grand Cru), is broad-shouldered from the hot 2015 vintage, and a little leaner from 2014 (a cool year). His mastery of oak (for whites and reds alike) is impressive for someone who’s only been making wine for 20-odd years – it seems all too easy to overdo the wood it at the beginning of your winemaking career.
Spitzemlagen & GC-Weine
2015 Weingut Martin Wassmer Staufener Schlossberg Weisser Burgunder
2015 Weingut Martin Wassmer Dottinger Castellberg GC Weisser Burgunder
2015 Weingut Martin Wassmer Dottinger Castellberg GC Grauer Burgunder
2015 Weingut Martin Wassmer Auggener Letten GC Grauer Burgunder
2016 Weingut Martin Wassmer Achkarrer Schlossberg GC Grauer Burgunder
2015 Weingut Martin Wassmer Dottinger Castellberg GC Chardonnay
Rot
Gutswein
2015 Weingut Martin Wassmer Marktgräflerland Spätburgunder
Selektions- & Lagenweine
2013 Weingut Martin Wassmer Schlatter Maltesergarten Spätburgunder
2014 Weingut Martin Wassmer Schlatter SW Spätburgunder
Spitzemlagen & GC-Weine
2015 Weingut Martin Wassmer Ehrenstetter Ölberg GC Spätburgunder
2015 Weingut Martin Wassmer Glottertäler Roter Bur GC Spätburgunder
2014 Weingut Martin Wassmer Schlatter Maltesergarten GC Pinot Noir
2014 Weingut Martin Wassmer Dottinger Castellberg GC Pinot Noir
Sue Style: Wassmer’s trump card is Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir), which makes up 55% of his total production. Yields are low (30-35hl/ha), grapes are hand-harvested into 10-kilo boxes and fermented at low temperatures, with punching down three times a day. The results range from the deliciously quaffable, unoaked, entry-level Markgräfler Spätburgunder, his bestseller in the UK (The Wine Society has it at around £13, or find it at the winery at €8.90), via various named vineyard sites and on up to what he calls his Grands Crus. Among the named sites, I loved the Schlatter Spätburgunder SW (the DWWA award-winner, €15.50 ex-cellar) but found the Roter Bur from the Glottertal (€45) lacking in charm and a little too austere for my taste. Oelberg tempts with its sweetly spicy nose (€45) while at the top of the tree GC Maltesergarten and GC Dottinger Castellberg (€49 and €68 respectively) are beautifully balanced and gloriously expressive. All, in varying degrees, have the haunting perfume and sweet fruit of good Pinot Noir.
He clearly loves his Spätburgunder and relishes the challenge of coaxing the best from this demanding grape. While the Burgundian influence is freely acknowledged, Wassmer’s wines have a distinctly Badisch character of their own (and sell at prices that are competitive with Burgundy of comparable quality – not hard nowadays). Beat a path to Schlatt if you’re in the neighbourhood: vaut le détour.
2015 Weingut Martin Wassmer Ehrenstetter Ölberg Rotwein Cuvée CHAPELLE
This wine sells for Euro 66 ex-winery.
Martin Wassmer
Am Sportplatz 3 | 79189 Bad Krozingen-Schlatt
Tel.: +49 (0) 76 33 – 15 29 2
Email: info@weingut-wassmer.com
www.weingut-wassmer.de
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