WeinGuide Falstaff Deutschland 2023: The 5 Best German Lemberger (Blaufränkisch)

Picture: Vineyard Walk, Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Karl Haidle in Kernen-Stetten, Württemberg, with Moritz Haidle - Germany-East Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Art, Culture, History - Berlin, Saale-Unstrut, Sachsen, Württemberg, Franken

 

Lemberger in Germany

 

Lemberger, also known as "Blauer Limberger" and "Blaufränkisch", grows in a warm climate and wind-protected areas, since bud-burst is early and it ripens late. In very good sites, this Württemberg speciality yields wines with excellent quality. It does well in various soil types, especially fertile, deep, loess-loam soils.

For years we have been seeing a gradual but steady increase in the area under vines for Lemberger. It has expanded from 500 ha in 1970 to 1,900 ha in 2019. It is almost exclusively cultivated in Württemberg, where it accounts for about 16% of the total vineyard area compared with 1,9% in Germany overall.

History

Officially classified under the name “Blauer Limberger”, this red grape variety also goes by the synonyms “Lemberger” and “Blaufränkisch”. The late-ripening Lemberger probably originated in vineyards on the lower stretches of the Danube River. The grape was documented in Austria in the second half of the 18th century and is cultivated there to this day (as Blaufränkisch) in Burgenland and near Vienna. In Hungary it is known as Kékfrankos. In the 19th century a “wine improvement society” advocated replacing high-yielding varieties with high-quality grapes (such as Lemberger) in the Kingdom of Württemberg. Indeed, Lemberger wines from Württemberg were the favorite of the first president of the Federal Repubic of Germany, Theodor Heuss, and it is said that the variety was equally as popular with Bismarck and Napoleon.

WeinGuide Falstaff Deutschland 2023: The 5 Best Lemberger

1. 2021 Weingut Karl Haidle, Stetten Gehrnhalde, Lemberger GG - 96 Falstaff Points

 

2. 2020 Weingut Karl Haidle, Stetten Gehrnhalde, Lemberger GG - 95+ Falstaff Points

Pictures: Vineyard Walk, Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Karl Haidle in Kernen-Stetten, Württemberg, with Moritz Haidle - Germany-East Tour 2018 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Art, Culture, History - Berlin, Saale-Unstrut, Sachsen, Württemberg, Franken

3. 2015 Weingut G.A. Heinrich, Heilbronn Vorderer Hundsberg Lemberger Trocken - 95 Falstaff Points

4. 2020 Weingut Rainer Schnaitmann, Fellbach Lämmler, Lemberger GG - 94+ Falstaff Points

 

Pictures: At Weingut Rainer Schnaitmann with Rainer Schnaitmann. See: Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting with Rainer Schnaitmann at Weingut Rainer Schnaitmann in Fellbach, Württemberg – Germany-East Wine and Art Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015), German

 

5. 2019 Weingut Dautel Cleebronn Michaelsberg, Lemberger GG - 94+ Falstaff Points 

Picture: Ernst Dautel and Christian Schiller at Weingut Dautel

Pictures: Tasting at Weingut Dautel in Württemberg with Christian Dautel - Germany-East Wine and Art Tour by ombiasy WineTours (2015)

 

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