German Catalog 2006 USE THIS ONE.qxp - Michael Skurnik Wines

RHEINHESSEN WINES
136
christian-wilhelm bernhard
rheinhessen • frei-laubersheim
I’d grown so accustomed to thinking of Hartmut Bernhard as a young pup I was taken aback to
see a little gray starting around his temples. There’s a photo-essay on the wall in the tasting room
showing the 1980 harvest, and Hartmut looks all of eleven years old. Maybe that’s why. My fault,
though, for these wines and this winery are striding forward each year, and no-longer-
”young”—Hartmut Bernhard is entering his prime.
2002 marked the end of the fiberglass and cement tank era in his cellars: all stainless steel
and old casks now.
Bernhard seems to take another step forward each year. If you’re a musician you go through
a period when you’re basically grappling with your instrument. It usually sounds good enough,
but attentive listeners can tell you’re straining. Then, if
you’re good (and lucky), a day comes when the instrument
begins to obey you, and if you’re really good it will
obey you before you’re aware of having commanded it.
Now all you hear is music. Hartmut is nearing that stage
of secure command over his craft; you feel it in the wines.
The Bernhards are out of the way, just over the hill
from Bad Kreuznach and the Nahe Valley. It’s one of
those curious little corners of Germany. The soils are not
unlike Nahe soils; igneous weathered rock, even porphyry
in some places. Others are typically Rheinhessen
clay; a hybrid of styles emerges. Some wines show Nahelike
skeins of curranty delineation and do best in damper
years. Others are typical Rheinhessen but with a more
compact profile, as though their proximity to the Nahe
caused them to speak with a Nahe-accent. They’re also
lighter and more buoyant than many Rheinhessen wines.
Hartmut’s a shy man, but his wife is hearty and gregarious,
plus she’s a trained vintner from a Mosel family.
These are exceptionally warm, loving people, and we
have a keen, almost telepathic rapport as tasters.
•Vineyard area: 10.9 hectares
•Annual production: 6,000 cases
•Top sites: Hackenheimer Kirchberg, Frei-
Laubersheimer Fels
•Soil types: Porphyry, weathered volcanic
soils, clay and sandy loam
•Grape varieties: 25% Riesling, 21% Spätburgunder,
11% Silvaner, 6% Grauburgunder,
5% Auxerrois, 3% Scheurebe, 3% Gewürztraminer,
22% other varieties
I do wish, though, that I could persuade Hartmut to
give me his Riesling from the porphyry vineyards with
residual sugar; they need it, I want it, but I can’t get it.
Why? His private customers expect it Trocken!
Happily, since the 1999 vintage all Rieslings have
had only Riesling dosage. I’m sure this contributes to
their ever-increasing polish.
Bernhards make a bigger deal out of my visits than
my meager talents warrant. I’m sure they know I like
their wines, but I hope they know I respect them too.
Hoping they’re reading these words; gentlemen (and
lady), it remains a pleasure to grow in the knowledge of
our respective crafts together over the years we’ve
known one another. And it is a joy to know you all.
There. It’s just the sort of thing I can’t say out loud without
dying of embarrasment. Now go away, I’m blushing
as it is.