2023 Chardonnay "Zimkaes" (village level) 
2022 Chardonnay Roter Berg (single vineyard) 
2022 Pinot Noir "Dhochsaat" (village level) 
2022 Pinot Noir Roter Berg (single vineyard) 

Lukas Hammelmann is one of the most exciting stories in German wine. 

In many ways Hammelmann presents a forceful rebuke, a dramatic counter-narrative to the more famous, blue-chip regions of the Pfalz, as Hammelmann's importer outlines here.

From the forgotten, cold, wind-swept plains of the Rhein basin, Lukas Hammelmann is shaping Rieslings of staggering force and cut. They have such thrust, such energy that more than one person has blinded the wines as coming from the Mosel. (If you missed our Grand Cru Riesling offer, click here!)

For this offer, however, we focus on two of Lukas Hammelmann's most singular rarities: his Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs.

Chardonnay is literally and figuratively something of a newcomer in Germany. It was only allowed to be planted in Germany in the early 1990s and it is something most estates really never did a whole lot with until only the last few years.

As with Pinot Noir, quality has simply exploded. As Robert has pointed out on Instagram and in the wine boards, there is good reason to think that the road to quality - meaning the road to terroir expression -  will be quite a bit quicker than it was with Pinot Noir. First, the climate is better for Chardonnay in Germany than it was for Pinot Noir thirty years ago. But more than that, the cultural exchange and the sharing of experience and techniques over the past decade has simply been profound.

German growers are approaching the grape with more knowledge, more experience and sensitivity than they did in the early 2000s. And you can taste it.

Hammelmann's village-level "aus den Dörfen" Chardonnay is sourced from Zeiskam with its loess and sandstone soils. These are younger vines yet they are Burgundian genetic material. The wine is quite clear and straight; it has a palpable energy, a certain briskness and direct quality that recalls the style, if not the substance, of Hammelmann's most compelling Rieslings. It is aromatic and perfumed (this is the sandstone). This is superb.

The "Grand Cru" single-vineyard Roter Berg comes from Hochstadt, from the village directly west of Zeiskam. Here we have more limestone and loess soils and so most of Hammelmann's Burgundian varieties are planted here (in fact, only the village-level Chardonnay, above, is planted in Zeiskam). In Hochstadt we also have very old Chardonnay vines planted in 1996, so close to 30 years old. You can taste the older vines. This is a considerable step up in weight and power; the wine is more luxurious, deeper and more complex.

This wine will clearly benefit with some development in the cellar; if you open it sooner, decant and give it some time.

Pinot Noir is certainly more of a known quantity in Germany. In the last ten years - maybe even only the past five years - we have seen a shocking explosion of quality. Pinot Noirs with finesse and clarity; Pinots that showcase their cool-climate origin.

Both of Hammelmann's Pinots come from the limestone-rich soils of Hochstadt. The village-level Pinot is bottled as "Dhochsaat" - the village name with the letters rearranged. As the bottle is unfined and unfiltered Hammelmann chooses to bottle it as a Landwein; therefore it cannot have the village name written on the label. The wine is concentrated and saturating with bright red fruit and spice. It is brisk and has tremendous energy and structure, with gripping fine tannins that provide something of an exclamation point. Great clarity and minerality and freshness. I love the rawness of this wine, again recalling something of the Rieslings.

Finally, the "Grand Cru" single-vineyard Roter Berg is, as is the Chardonnay above, a considerable step up in terms of weight and power. The fruit here shows more dark-berry tones and there is ample spice and immense breadth. Much more elegant than the village-level wine, this is still dense and coiled up. As with the single-vineyard Chardonnay, Hammelmann's Pinot could use some time in the cellar to develop further.

As many critics and winemakers have noted (including Keller, only about 40 minutes north of Hammelmann), 2022 is a very, very special vintage for Pinot Noir. These wines will be legends.

But when they are legends, they will also be unavailable.

This offer is now closed. If you need help finding the wines please email orders@sourcematerialwine.com.