Daniel and Frederike started making wine six years ago on the outskirts of Uhlbach, a village half an hour from Stuttgart. Their family home and winery is a short walk from the vineyards, planted on geological formations dating back to the Middle Triassic period. Beneath ‘Grapkapelle auf dem Württemberg’, a chapel and burial chamber built high on a hill, the sweeping curve of the valley forms a huge bowl, the vineyards threaded with small roads and punctuated by the stonework of the occasional, terraced parcel. At Kleines Gut, the different sites are captured in the bottle; Riesling grown on marl, single-vineyard Chardonnay, Silvaner from sandstone, Spätburgunder ‘Kleine Gärten’ with Pinot Noir from four small parcels.
Merlot comes as something of a surprise, but in the hands of Daniel and Fredi, it takes on a different shape. The vines were planted back in 2012, by an uncle who loved Bordeaux and Burgundy, and the plot carries his memory, along with a small hut built by Daniel’s grandparents; the ‘Häusle’ this wine takes its name from. Set in the middle of the Grosse Lage Uhlbacher Götzenberg, the steep slope faces fully south, the vines protected from wind by the curve of the valley and rooted in blue marl. As harvest approaches, a close eye ensures the Merlot is picked at just the right moment, before ripeness sends the fruit towards jammy flavours and higher alcohol. The grapes were de-stemmed before three weeks in open vats, with gentle pump-overs at the beginning and end of fermentation to avoid harsh tannins, and a single punch-down half way through to bring energy to the yeasts. After pressing, the wine was transferred to used wooden barrels and left to rest for a year in the stone cellar beneath the family home. If Vin de Soif was a wine to cure thirst, Merlot vom Häusle is a wine for the dinner table. Spring violets at the edge of a forest, blackberries picked in autumn sun. Fresh and juicy with soft tannins, perfect to drink cellar-chilled at a summer barbecue.