Οlympia and Hannes met at Geisenheim, Germany’s reputed university for viticulture and oenology. At the time neither of them planned to start a winery but today their finely crafted, fiercely biodynamic wines shine out in a region known for conventional agriculture. In 2014, after working in wineries across California, France and Austria, Olympia and Hannes settled in Rosswag, surrounded by forest on a sweeping curve of the river Enz. Here, where Hannes grew up, they took on his grandparents’ half hectare of Riesling and Lemberger, the latter a variety they had learned to love in Austria under the name Blaufränkisch. A Pinot Noir vineyard followed soon after and it seemed Riesling would remain the sole white variety until last year saw the unexpected addition of a small vineyard of Pinot Blanc and Muscat and, along with it, the creation of Flora.
Flora ’23 is the first vintage of this wine, which will continue to be part of the Roterfaden portofolio. A second wine from this plot is also being planned; a sparkling Pinot Blanc that we can’t wait to taste. Keen not to over-expand and risk losing the quality of their wines, Hannes and Olympia had previously kept their operation to around 3.5 hectares, but the offer of this beautiful plot of very old vines, growing on south-east facing, dry-stone terraces, was hard to resist. The grapes were vinified together, left for a week on the skins then fermented in old wooden barrels and matured on full lees for nine months. Although only 20% Muscat, this variety dominates the nose, the aroma recalling the sun-drenched walls where the grapes ripened. The palate leans more on the Pinot Blanc, known in Germany as Weissburgunder, giving acidity, salinity and freshness. Great as an aperitif or with seafood, drink chilled.