It’s hard to believe we did it but yesterday afternoon we effortlessly transferred from one courtyard meal to another, and polished the second one off – despite declarations of repleteness as we left Schloss Vollrads.
An hour or so’s drive afforded a power nap, and we found ourselves in Bissersheim, a pretty village just as Halbstuck Knipser opened its doors at 5pm. A lovely courtyard with shade from the last of the evening sun, a chiming village clock, a constant stream of customers and a table set for a tasting – what more could you want?
Stefan Braun hosted us through a stunning tasting of Weingut Knipser‘s Pfalz wines. The Knipser family have been pioneers in introducing new varieties to the Pfalz region – and also at producing wines of fabulous quality from more traditional grape varieties.
A Riesling Sekt (made in the traditional method) with a parsley sorbet cleared our palates nicely, and we then enjoyed a Chardonnay/Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc) with super concentration and acidity with a pea soup.
A Pinot Gris which opened up beautifully in the glass was our final dry white, and we moved onto the reds and a delicious Schnitzel.
Three Pinot Noirs of increasing quality were a revelation of how this grape flourishes in the Pfalz, and we then explored some Bordeaux grapes with a Cabernet Merlot blend and Cuvée X, a Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc blend both from the 2011 vintage, showing great fruit and structure.
With our tiramisu we had a beautiful 2003 Riesling Auslese which was a real joy, and we realised we had completed over the day not quite a wine marathon we got past 20!
Back at Wiesbaden some of us went to the bar to see the Germany/France match, which we felt should have ended differently.