Unbottled – Marcus Hees Insel Weissburgunder

The Nahe is another rather underrated wine region, apart from a few big names, not a lot of vineyards are known. Yet, the Insel Weissburgunder I am presenting to you today is actually not the first bottle I had from this wine maker. We already enjoyed Marcus Hees’ Blanc de Noir sparkling wine a few years ago.

When looking for a wine from the Nahe region, I remembered Marcus’ wines. On top of that, Wein für Wein featured the wine when interviewing Marcus, so you just know that you have to try it, too. The grapes for the Insel Weissburgunder grow on a steep plot in the “Insel” vineyard. The soil as a bit more clay as well as slate and sandstone. After the gently crushing, the grapes spend six hours on their skins before being pressed. The spontaneous fermentation takes up to three months in large oak barrels. Afterwards the wine stays on the yeast up until the next August when it was filled without filtration or fining. This wine is only available from Wein am Limit.

Some skinny fruit

When trying the Insel pinot blanc from Marcus Hees you at first get a bit of white fruits with a touch of citrus. I found white peaches and white grapefruits. Yet, after a short while you are hit with a lot of minerals, reminding me of slate. On the palate, the wine has some grip with some fruits like peaches and a touch of maracuja. However, the acidic backbone keeps the wine from becoming too wide. Towards the end of the taste, you will find the full spectrum of citrus fruits as well as some herbs and a touch of heather honey.

Something fat and earthy

I did enjoy this pinot blanc very much. In some ways it reminded me a bit of the Zehnthof Luckert pinot blanc, but at the same time the wine from Marcus Hees is even more reduced on the palate. For a food-pairing I went with beet root carpaccio with walnuts, Djion mustard, olive oil as well as feta. The wine beautifully accompanied the earthy flavours of the dish.