4 editor-picked estates growing Merlot in Pfalz.
Where to taste Merlot in Pfalz: the estates that grow it, how the region expresses the grape, and how to book a visit.
A 99.7 ha Laumersheim estate under Werner, Volker and Stephan Knipser, VDP member since 1993, and the German barrique-pioneer estate for Cabernet, Merlot and Pinot Noir from the 1980s onward.
Tasting: Estate Vinothek at Hauptstrasse 47-49 by appointment; tastings cover Kirschgarten, Mandelpfad and Steinbuckel GGs and the Knipser Bordeaux-blend reds that pioneered the category in Germany from the 1980s.
A 16.3 ha Ungstein estate at Pfeffingen 2 under Jan Eymael, VDP member since 1986; Herrenberg and Weilberg Grosse Lage Rieslings and the historic Pfalz Scheurebe reference bottling.
Tasting: Vinothek at Pfeffingen 2 by appointment; tastings cover Ungsteiner Herrenberg and Weilberg GG plus the estate's Scheurebe lineup, the Pfeffingen reference.
An 85 ha Hainfeld estate in the 15th Lergenmueller generation since 1538; broad Burgunder-led portfolio, ownership of Weingut Sankt Annaberg from 1998 and a sustainability-driven cellar program.
Tasting: Vinothek at Weinstrasse 16 with daily opening hours; tastings cover the Burgunder lineup and the Sankt Annaberg single-vineyard reds.
A Bordeaux-style blend from the Knipser brothers at Laumersheim, working Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc grown in the warmer northern Pfalz. One of the rare under-EUR-25 serious German Bordeaux cuvees.
Tip: Cuvee X is the cheapest serious German Bordeaux blend; drink it alongside roast lamb or pink beef to see what the warm northern Pfalz now ripens.