Klingenmünsterer, Maria Magdalena, Portugieser Rotwein S, 2009, Siftsweingut Frank Meyer, red wine from Germany

5,5 points

WP_20150316_001Portugieser is a type of grape which is normally used for mass-produced wines and it therefore has a rather bad reputation. Many years ago this wine was introduced to me by the waiter of the restaurant of one of my favorite hotels on the Baltic Sea – the Speicherhotel Barth. I loved it immediately; maybe because it fits with the rougher climate of the Baltic Sea.

This is a very soft and dry red wine. The rather light flavor of the wine receives a very special “drive” as it is matured for 24 months in oak barrels. It is really very woody and delivers all good aromas of barrique: tobacco and pepper. It isn’t fruity like many Portugieser, and but condimental along with some strong red berries (even cranberries).

The wine comes from the Pfalz area. One of the most famous so called “Weinstraße” passes close to this winery. It is certainly one of the most beautiful and historical areas of Germany’s early Middle Ages, between Speyer and Straßbourg. The cellar of winemakers Meyer is a former wine cellar of a monastery and probably many centuries old.

Qualified as a Deutscher Qualitätswein – a German vintage wine – I think this is an understatement. This wine, in my opinion, is better than that: straightforward, without frills and just honest! A wonderful companion to good red meat, in particular just a steak or any kind of venison.

You can drink this wine young but also a little bit older – although I don’t think it is something to keep in the cellar forever.

By the way, what deserves even 6 points is the great price-performance ratio – since one bottle of this outstanding wine just costs € 12 / bottle!

For further information but also to order this wine go to: http://www.stiftsweingut-meyer.de/.