The northern Pfalz is a border region most people drive past. Limestone-riddled, colder nights than you'd expect, and a dead ringer for the kind of soil Burgundy built its reputation on. Daniel and Jonas Brand farm organically up here, and their 2022 Chardonnay reads exactly like the site: chalky cut, a mid-palate with more tension than weight, fruit that stays lean rather than lush. Same rock as the famous stuff, a fraction of the noise.
Tasting Notes
The forgotten border region of the northern Pfalz is riddled with limestone soils making it perfect for, among other things, certain varieties that do well in Burgundy, like, well, Chardonnay. Yet here the temperatures are a bit cooler, the nights a bit brisker, and so the Chardonnay that the young brothers Brand farm comes to us with a tad more acidity, a few thousand more volts of electricity than most of the more luxurious examples from Burgundy and the New World. This is no-nonsense, organically farmed, young-vine Chardonnay that is ripe, yet sizzles with energy and acidity. And just to make sure that the wine glows in the dark, the brothers add a small bit of Riesling to the cuvée (usually 10%) which turbo-charges everything, heightening and sharpening the aromatics, making the wine perfumed and even more explosive. Enjoy with lightning bolts and crudo.
