Summary
The Weingut Dr. Wehrheim in Birkweiler has for decades been one of the defining estates of the Südliche Weinstraße. On around 20 hectares the Wehrheim family, now in its fourth generation, farms one of the geologically most varied vineyard landscapes in Germany – from mottled sandstone (Buntsandstein) through shell limestone (Muschelkalk) and Keuper marl (Keuper) to the Permian red rock (Rotliegendes) of the Birkweiler Kastanienbusch. The style is clear: uncompromisingly dry, minerally shaped Rieslings and Pinots, for some years now from certified biodynamic viticulture. The estate has been a member of the VDP since 1991.
History
The property on the Weinstraße in Birkweiler was built in 1902 – at first not as a wine estate, but as a wholesale business for agricultural produce. In 1920 Karl Wehrheim bought the building and took up farming, in which viticulture was initially only one part. Only gradually did wine become the core of the business.
An early and bold step was the switch to selling estate-bottled wine in the 1940s: at a time when most Palatinate estates handed their wines over to the trade in barrel, Dr. Wehrheim was already bottling itself. In 1974 Dr. Heinz Wehrheim took over, and in 1984 Karl-Heinz Wehrheim joined, shaping the estate over decades and earning it its reputation as a leading address in the southern Palatinate. In 1991 came admission to the VDP.
Today Karl-Heinz Wehrheim and his son Franz Wehrheim run the estate together; the VDP lists Franz Wehrheim as owner and cellar master. Under the fourth generation the estate was converted to certified biodynamics.
Location & Terroir
Birkweiler lies on the Haardtrand, where the Pfälzerwald gives way to the Rhine plain. The village itself sits in a sheltered basin that buffers the cold air flowing down from the forest; the Taschberg forms the transition to the east. The southern Palatinate is among the warmest and driest wine-growing regions in Germany – almond and fig trees are part of the landscape here.
In terms of soil the district is exceptionally varied. Weathered mottled sandstone (Buntsandstein), shell limestone (Muschelkalk), Keuper marl (Keuper) and Permian red rock (Rotliegendes) meet within a small area. According to the estate, the Birkweiler Kastanienbusch is the only site in the Palatinate on weathered Rotliegendes: the meagre, iron-rich soil forces the vines to root deeply and to form small berries, which leads to particularly aromatic and minerally wines. The estate has farmed eleven parcels totalling more than six hectares there for three generations.
Style & Philosophy
The house aim is simply put and hard to achieve: harmony and balance without sweetness. All wines are made consistently dry; their tension comes from acidity, extract and minerality rather than from residual sugar. Origin is correspondingly important – even the village wines are sold separately by soil type, for example as Weißburgunder from the Muschelkalk or as Grauer Burgunder from the Keuper.
The basis for this is the work in the vineyard. The estate is certified under respekt-BIODYN and additionally certified EU organic; biodynamic farming is intended to bring the differences between the soils out even more clearly in the wines. In the cellar the wines are aged in stainless steel, in large wooden casks or in barrique, depending on the type of wine, in each case with the aim of not masking the origin. The estate is also a member of the producers cooperation Fünf Winzer – Fünf Freunde.
Notable Sites & Wines
- Birkweiler Kastanienbusch – VDP.Große Lage on Rotliegendes; the basis for Riesling and Spätburgunder Große Gewächse
- Birkweiler Kastanienbusch Köppel – the particularly meagre parcel within the Große Lage, bottled separately
- Birkweiler Mandelberg – VDP.Große Lage, the origin of Weißburgunder and Riesling
- Siebeldinger Im Sonnenschein – VDP.Große Lage in the neighbouring village
- Birkweiler Rosenberg, Arzheimer Rosenberg and Birkweiler Am Dachsberg – VDP.Erste Lagen
Characteristic of the range is the equal standing of Riesling and the Pinot varieties: the Weißburgunder from the limestone soils is just as much a flagship as the Riesling from the Kastanienbusch.
Awards
Dr. Wehrheim has for years been listed at the very top by the leading German wine guides – Gault&Millau with four grapes, Eichelmann with four stars, Der Feinschmecker with four F. The wine guide of wein.plus counts the estate among the best producers in the country. Individual wines regularly achieve high scores, for example at Falstaff. Beyond the ratings, the estate is regarded as one of the addresses that have contributed decisively to the Südliche Weinstraße being perceived today as an independent top region rather than an appendage of the Mittelhaardt.