Hagedorn

The following wine, also from Weingut Leiner, comes in one of those heavy burgundy-shaped bottles which yell out, "I'm important, taste me!" The punt at the bottom is the deepest I've come across: long enough to plunge the whole length of my thumb in and to hold the bottle between that and my forefinger. Not that I'd attempt to pour the wine like that... I'm usually "all thumbs", which means that such a manoeuvre would invariably end in tears (and half the wine would end up on the floor).

Weingut Leiner, Chardonnay "Hagedorn" 2007, Pfalz
Hagedorn is a slightly sloping south-facing vineyard approximately equidistant from the forest to the west and from Kleine Kalmit to the east. The soil is predominantly clay and therefore quite heavy.

Straw yellow with greenish tones. The initial aromas are laden with butterscotch and, again, this wild, grassy note of a summer meadow or pasture. On the second day of tasting, there is less of the butterscotch and more a suggestion of something tinned (asparagus?) or rubbery. At a pinch, you could still describe it as buttery. There is also red melon in the style of a Grauburgunder. Intriguing, if somewhat odd.
The palate is minty, cool, minerally and viscous, with sweet fruit (red melon) and just enough acidity to prevent the wine from tasting fat. This Chardonnay is highly individualistic, of that there is no doubt. It's also quite a mouthful. Definitely a food wine to be consumed in moderation. Maybe lacking in a bit more dimension to send it to the next level, as it were, but there's plenty to admire here nonetheless.