Frank John winery #160
The people of the Hirschhorner Weinkontor
In 2002, we bought the Hirschhorner Hof, a former tithe house and ecclesiastical estate. We put much love to detail, as well as energy and endurance into the renovation of the 400 year old renaissance building with an impressive cross vault cellar. Today, you may discover the estate in all its new splendour. Since 2003, we have run our family business with our two children Sebastian and Dorothea: the Hirschhorner Hof wine cellar true to the motto: “great wines of old tradition”.
Our new top floor 120 m2 holiday flat with high standard furnishing invites you to enjoy relaxed days in the Palatine region. By following the aspects of feng shui and those of building biology, the flat has been turned into an oasis of well-being for all senses.
Wine philosophy
Inspired by the work with traditional aging methods and processing techniques we manage to produce elegant wines full of finesse. Our wines unite good balance with the interplay of mineral nuances, intensity and fullness. Such quality can only be achieved by using the best hand-picked grapes of biodynamic cultivation. Very often, the harvesting process must be repeated several times. Due to minimalistic work in the cellar and long aging processes in wood barrels, we produce easily digestible and balanced wines of great aging potential.
Our wines
Riesling Buntsandstein:
The grapes for our Riesling grow only on Buntsandstein soils which are typical for this winegrowing area of the Palatinate region. The roots of the vines penetrate this soil type deeply and thus influence the mineral aroma of our Riesling. Short maceration, long pressing and spontaneous fermentation processes in 1200 l and 2400 l barrels, partly with whole grapes, create Riesling wines full of character and great aging potential. The quality of our wines is enhanced by the one year aging process stays on the full lees until natural clarification.
Pinot Noir Kalkstein:
The grapes for the Pinot Noir grow only on vineyards with a high percentage of lime and are fermented on the skins according to traditional methods. Later, the malolactic fermentation process sets in. The aging of our Pinot in 225 l and 500l barrels takes about two years. Afterwards, the wine is bottled without filtering. Thus, we produce a clear and aromatic multi-faceted Pinot Noir full of depth.
Sparkling Riesling Brut:
The grapes for our sparkling wine grow on old Riesling vineyards and are produced by whole-cluster pressing and long aging processes in special Palatine barrels. The second fermentation of the base wine follows the classic traditional method with at least 36 months and up to 100 months aging process on yeast, giving the sparkling wine its filigree Riesling aroma. After riddling and disgorging, the bottles get a dosage of about 8 g to balance the elegant, well integrated acidity of the Riesling. As a result of the classic aging method, our sparkling wines always display fine bubbles that perfectly underline their mineral nuances.
Quality Pledge
Since the vintage 2003, we produce our wines following traditional methods, thus, our wines have achieved a high aging potential. This allows us to take back any unopened bottle, without any indication of reasons on your side, and to exchange it for another vintage.
Vinification:
› hand-picked grapes
› long aging process in wooden barrels
› spontaneous fermentation
› spontaneous MLF
› minimal addition of sulfur before bottling
› high quality natural corks
› bottle aging
Ecology:
Since our first vintage we have only been using grapes of biodynamic cultivation. With our Riesling 2006 and our Pinot Noir 2005 we have achieved the Naturland certification. With the vintage of 2012 we have achieved the DEMETER certification. We are promoters of slow food and member of the “Traditionelle Sektmacher”.
