When counting Germany’s wine regions, the traditionally red-wine-focused region of Württemberg may not be at the top of your most familiar list. Yet this frequently forgotten gem holds many hidden wonders and some wonderful wine estates. Our pick of the week is one that considers oak in red wine to be like salt in soup. Without it, the soup is bland; with too much, it is overpowered, as Christian Dautel puts it. Balance is the key. And we can only nod in agreement.
Weingut Dautel cultivates 20 hectares in Württemberg, with approximately 24 percent Riesling, 18 percent Spätburgunder, 16 percent Lemberger, and around 12 percent Chardonnay, Weissburgunder, Cabernet, and Trollinger. Its VDP.GROSSE LAGE sites include Michaelsberg, Steingrüben, Schupen, and Forstberg, while its VDP.ERSTE LAGE sites include Sonnenberg and Wurmberg. The estate is a family business, with production shared between father Ernst Dautel, mother Hannelore Dautel, and their eldest son, Christian Dautel. Together, they have won numerous national and international awards and have been members of the prestigious VDP since 1999. And with good reason.
Like other producers we have featured in this magazine, Dautel represents a modern take on German winemaking: the generation that broke away from the high-yield, bulk-production mindset that dominated much of the post-war period until the 1970s. Since the 1970s, when Ernst Dautel ended his cooperation with the local cooperative and decided to focus entirely on estate-bottled wines, the winery has steadily grown in experience and quality. The focus is on allowing the specific character of each terroir to shine. In their view, 80 percent of quality is determined in the vineyard, which they manage as organically and climate-consciously as possible.
As an early mover in the 1970s and 1980s, Dautel began planting grape varieties that were still unusual in Germany at the time, aiming for drier wines than the standard of the era and using oak barrels for maturation. Thanks to a special permit to plant Chardonnay on a trial basis when it was not yet allowed by the authorities in the 1980s, they are now the proud owners of some of the oldest Chardonnay vines in Germany.
And that is only one of several innovations that have shaped this 510-year-old winery. Experiments with foreign grape varieties have continued, the typical 225- and 228-litre barriques have been replaced by 300-litre and larger barrels, and a more natural approach to winegrowing has gradually been introduced across the estate. They have already completely eliminated the use of industrial fertiliser. Looking ahead, sustainability and respect for each site and terroir remain the priority, Christian Dautel told us.
