Meyer Näkel

Dernau, Ahr Valley, Germany

Sisters Meike and Dörte Näkel are the 5th generation at this pioneering Ahr Valley winery who, despite unprecedented challenges, are making some of the most compelling Pinot Noir in Germany. The name Meyer Näkel goes back to the marriage of grandparents Paula Meyer and Willibald Näkel who, in 1950, joined their respective pub and winery together to form the estate. At the time, they cultivated an area of just 1.5 hectares, yet were able to make a small name for themselves because Willibald’s production of dry red wines represented thoroughly pioneering work. During the post-War years, and for some decades afterwards, German wine was simply always sweet. This was a time when there were lots of tourists, and the product of the valley was Liebfraumilch-style mass production, with lots of sweet rosé and sweet red wines. 'People used to drink the red wine warm,' says Meike.

Their father, Werner, who worked as a high-school teacher of physical education and math, took over the estate in 1982. He went to Burgundy and brought back barriques, and he went into the vineyards and dropped half the crop. 'He was seen as crazy,' says Meike. 'No one at the time was thinking of quality production.' In 1989 Werner won a prize for his 1987 vintage. Step by step, Meyer Näkel progressed. Together with wife Claudia, Werner gradually expanded the wine estate to its current size, and got involved in numerous other initiatives and projects. Werner worked very early on to ensure that his two daughters, Meike and Dörte, could follow in his footsteps. Both sisters initially completed training as vintners, then went on to study for a degree in wine cultivation in Geisenheim before gradually taking over the operation of the wine estate.

Meike and Dörte maintain the Meyer-Näkel estate’s focus on quality red wine. “As the 5th generation, we live the tradition of winegrowing in our family. During that time, viticulture and cellar management have undergone massive changes. Today we have great technical possibilities for cultivating our steep slopes, but our work in the cellar is still very much handcraft,” Dörte shares. They strive to make the terroir of their steep Ahr slopes tangible in their mineral-laden wines. Grapes are harvested by hand and carefully selected, and the work in the cellar focuses exclusively on gently preserving this high level of quality.

Like many wineries in the Ahr, Meyer-Näkel focuses mainly on Pinot Noir (or as it’s known locally, Spätburgunder). The deep valley of craggy rocks along the Ahr River perfectly positions vines to catch as much sunlight as possible, providing additional warmth and sun exposure in one of Germany’s most northerly winegrowing regions. The unique microclimate is reflected in Meyer-Näkel’s red wines – fruitiness and full body in the foreground, and a slight herbaceousness and minerality on the palate. The estate also produces Frühburgunder, a mutation of Pinot Noir that was considered extinct until the 1970’s but successfully revived. Frühburgunder has many similar properties to Pinot Noir but matures earlier and typically produces softer wines with lower acidity.

The 2021 Flood

On July 14th 2021, when Meike & Dörte Näkel realized how bad the flooding was starting to get, they made the decision to rush to their new winery, just outside of town, and save as much as they could. As one of the top Spätburgunder producers in Germany, the winery held their livelihood, which included the unbottled 2020 vintage. The sisters never could have imagined the level of devastation that the flooding would bring. Soon after they arrived, the immense amount of water rushing into the building trapped them. Their first instinct was to go to the roof and hopefully stay above the water line as long as they could, but when a large gas tank washed into the building, it became clear that they had to find a way out. Dodging the equipment and barrels they had attempted to rescue, the two winemakers swam through the murky waters to the corner of the winery. With no clear path out, the sisters broke a window and were quickly pushed through by the rushing current. Doing their best to navigate the treacherous waters, the two were a mile away from the winery only to be saved by a tree planted by their grandfather. They clung to the life-saving tree for eleven hours before eventually being rescued.

The catastrophic damages caused by the flooding ravaged not only the winery and tasting room of Meyer-Näkel, but the entire Ahr Valley. The clean-up would have seemed insurmountable if it weren’t for the help and comradery provided to them by nearly every major winemaking team in Germany. Hans & Valentin Rebholz, Katharina Prüm, Klaus Peter Keller, Friedrich Becker, Cornelius Donnhoff, Dorothee Zilliken, and Oliver Haag are just a few of the superstars who aided in the recovery efforts. Thick brown mud covered everything. Most of the barrels were gone, and the majority of the equipment was ruined. Additionally, they thought that all of the 2018 vintage had been destroyed, until Hans Rebholz opened a side door in the winery, which revealed the entire US allocation of the 2018 Blue Slate Pinot Noir. The bottles were all washed and labeled and we are THRILLED to be able to offer some of the last Meyer Näkel Pinot Noir in the world. The next Pinot Noir will be released in 2024.

Thanks to the incredible support of top winemakers all over Germany sending their teams into the vineyards of Meyer Näkel, the 2021 vintage was saved. These wines are rare and represent a glimmer of hope towards the rebuilding of this great estate. Besides a few local customers, the US is the only market fortunate enough to have access to these wines.

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