2023 Fledermaus

Tasting

Fledermaus is the wine people know us for, and it's made from a grape that hardly anyone lets out on its own. Schwarzriesling is called Pinot Meunier in Champagne, where it mostly plays second fiddle to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. We wanted to hear what it sounds like solo. The vineyard sits in the middle of town among gardens, and at dusk at least fifteen species of bat come out to hunt. When we found out, we started collecting their guano for the compost. (So the animals on the label are on the payroll, in a manner of speaking.) The 2023 crop was small again, the grapes concentrated and spotless. We gave the whole bunches just three days of gentle steeping, the way you take a tea out before it turns bitter, then raised the wine in steel. What comes out is a pale, juicy red with red berries, a touch of pepper and an acidity that keeps everything moving. There's hardly any tannin. It behaves more like a white than a red, and as nearly every year, there isn't nearly enough of it.