Dominik Held
About
This isn’t an unusual tale for us at Coeur; we’re happily following the global trend of young people newly exploring their homelands through small wineries, great farming, and thoughtful vinification. But Dominik’s wines are special. He started out with 1.5 hectares in 2020; that was his first proper vintage, though a year or two of experimentation came first. We’re beginning work with the 2021s, and it’s remarkable how potent these wines are in just their second year. Dominik attributes all of this to the specificity of the soil types where he’s working in his home village of Dolgesheim, which are proper ocean marl (at 20-30% pure limestone content!), along with clay and loess.
The Jurassic part of the soils here ends up expressing in the wines exactly the way you hope it might: these are wines with a lot of power and body, but humming underneath each cuvée is distinctive, persistent, almost slick salinity. They are striking in how much they remind one of the ouillé styles from the Jura, and this in just two vintages of organic farming, native ferments, and long élevage before bottling (Dominik hopes to give all the wines around 18 months of aging in neutral wood as he develops; for now everything gets around a year). The wines are dense and reductive on first opening, but if they get a few hours of air, they are kaleidescopic: colorful, wild, big.
As of this writing, Dominik is currently tending to five hectares total from his family farm; we’re thrilled to receive little bits of the whole lineup of the wines, many vinified by variety—the Scheurebe and Silvaner are unlike any others we know in Germany; the Weissburgunder/Chardo combination reminds of us both people like Labet but also Dominik’s good friend Moritz Kissinger, who works in the same region. We’re tickled to introduce Dominik to our corral here and can’t wait to see what the next vintages hold for our new friend. Don’t miss these!
Products
Cuvee Weiss
Organic. Roughly 33% Huxelrebe, 33% Müller-Thurgau, 17% Silvaner, and 17% other grapes (Scheurebe, Chardonnay, Weißburgunder). Huxelrebe and Scheurebe were on the skins for two weeks, all other varieties pressed directly after some foot-stomping. Aging in a mix of used barriques, inox tanks and fiberglass tanks for eleven months. 10mg/L SO2 added before bottling. Accessible and pretty, Dominik intends this wine to be a fingerprint or a representation of much of the character of the overall domaine.
Cuvee Rot
Organic. 70% Dornfelder, 20% Portugieser, 10% Pinot Noir. Portugieser was macerated on skins for two weeks with around 40-50% whole clusters. Dornfelder was fermented via carbonic maceration for two weeks, then the two lots were blended together and aging in a mix of used oak, fiberglass and inox tanks for eleven months. Unfined, unfiltered, zero SO2 added. Dominik calls this is “chilled red prototype, great for pizza, meant to be drunk now."
Chardonnay Weissburgunder
Organic. 50% Chardonnay, 50% Weißburgunder. Spontaneous fermentation in new 1200L oak barrels (called Stückfass). Aged in those same for seven months, then moved into inox tanks for four months of settling. Unfined, unfiltered, 25mg/L SO2 added. Dominik says this wine is probably the most “classical”in his lineup: you’ll see the lightest influence of the new wood, which he calls ‘a little bit of 90’s kitsch,’ with light notes of pineapple and coconut, but there’s still great tension, lovely structure, and fine acidity.
Riesling
Organic. 100% Riesling. Spontaneous fermentation in used 500L oak barrels; aging in a mix of those same for six months, then the wine is transferred into inox tank for five months. Unfined, unfiltered, 10mg/L SO2 added. The fruit for this wine comes in late harvest, always with both low alcohol levels and full ripeness. There’s very vibrant acidity here, with distinct minerality and hints of oxidation. It’s also quite reductive at the same time—very classical in presentation. An impressive wine.
Scheurebe
Organic. 100% Scheurebe. For 2022, 50% was fermented on the skins for two weeks with the other 50% direct pressed. Afterwards the two lots are combined and the wine finished fermentation in used oak barrels (a mix of barrique and 500L tonneaux). The wine was aged in those same vessels for eleven months. Unfined, unfiltered, no SO2 added. Dominik says, “This definitely not the type of Scheurebe you’d get normally in my region. Or elsewhere… But this is how Scheurebe tastes when you put it on the skins and go at it in a very ‘low intervention/naturalistic’ way. Herbal, spicy, with the famous mango thing going on, but in a very delicate way. Fine tannins that add grip and structure. A new interpretation of Scheurebe from Germany!” We love love this special Scheu.
Silvaner
Organic. 100% Silvaner. Spontaneous fermentation in used 500L oak barrels. Aging in those same vessels for eleven months, then transferred to inox tank for six months. Unfined, unfiltered, 15mg/L SO2 added. Dominik says, “this is probably my most interesting wine and the one with the most aging potential. Very excited how this will taste in a couple of years. Notes of hay, pear and stones, some green and herbal notes and a very distinctive texture and grip on the tongue. Very salty and very long finish.” This is a very structured wine, too, it needs a lot of oxygen and then is super expressive and colorful.
Sauvignon Blanc
Organic. 100% Sauvignon Blanc. Spontaneous fermentation in used 500L oak barrels. Aged in those same for eleven months, then transferred to inox tanks for six months. Unfined, unfiltered, 15mg/L SO2 added. This is a cool vintage Sauvignon blanc; Dominik says, “usually, my Sauvignon Blancs show a very distinctive kind of lemon fruit and lemon zest on the nose, due to calcareous soils. In 2021 the summer and pre-harvest time was too cold and wet, so the precursors for these aromatics didn’t develop in the berries. So, this wine has greener aroma happening. Pimientos de Padrón, smoked yellow bell pepper, ground pepper. Nonetheless this wine still shows my signature. Structure, saltiness, minerality and a fine acidity.” This is the wine that made us want to import Dominik’s wines. Unbelievable stuff.
