2024 Black-blue Riesling, Rosé

Location: The Schwarzblauer Riesling (234) was a victim of the Little Ice Age and survived with two specimens in one of the oldest Riesling vineyards on the Middle Moselle. Another vine survived in a disused vineyard in Brandenburg. It was documented to have been planted in the 12th century and had been waiting for rediscovery since the 15th century, forgotten and neglected for centuries.

History: The "Schwarzblauer Riesling" grape variety, named after the ampelographer Galet, had been widespread in Champagne, Alsace-Lorraine, and the middle and upper Rhine Valley since the early Middle Ages. Historical evidence clearly shows that the finest grape varieties once made their way from Germany to France—and not the other way around. This was also the case with the Schwarzblauer Riesling, which was then cultivated in France's most renowned vineyards. Even the Wends planted this vine south of Potsdam as early as the 11th century. Later, it reached the Cistercians at their mother monastery of Morimond, which is why we can still marvel at examples today in a 200-year-old vineyard on the Middle Moselle.

Like Franc Pineau, the Black-Blue Riesling belonged to the "Noiriens" of Burgundy. These grapes belonged to the Pineaux group. The Little Black (Noir Menue), as the Black-Blue Riesling was formerly known, was widespread in the Grand Cru vineyards of the Côte d'Or until the mid-19th century.
It was considered extinct until 2008.

For more information, see the Certificate of Origin → here