The winery was mentioned in documents under the name Nellis in 1479. From the local interest index it is mentioned that Peter Nelis is the tenant of a “wyngartz at the buysch portzen”. For this property an unusually high interest rate was paid to the lords of the castle “Landskrone”. Then as now it is an excellent vineyard. For the date of the documentary mention is still the brand name 1479N. Thomas Nelles has been running the business since the 1970s. He is supported by his son Philip. The company is a member of the VDP.
The winery Nelles is managed by Thomas and Philipp Nelles. It covers 8.5 hectares of vineyards, mostly steep slopes with a slope of more than 30%. Here, the grape varieties Spätburgunder, Frühburgunder, Domina, Riesling and Pinot Gris are cultivated to the highest quality level. Since the 80s, the house sells the two premium wines”B48″ and “B52”.
The locations
The vineyards are located in the best vineyard locations of the climatically particularly mild lower Ahr valley. The steep slate floors absorb the heat of the sun and give it back to our plants at night. So the wines are so rich, strong and full-bodied.
The vineyard consists of greywacke and slate. The roots of the vines penetrate many meters deep into the rock. This favors a deep, mineral taste. The wines of this location are characterized by a very good shelf life.
This location has Devon schist and volcanic rock as underground. Above is a dense loess pad. Here are wines with fullness and body, but also a lot of elegance and fruitiness.
The geologically very young sandstone in Neuenahr with its many fossil inclusions comes from the ice age. The location has an intact fauna. So there is a specius of wild bees, which is unique in Europe and protected. Powerful and bodily wines with opulent fruitiness grow on this vineyard.
Gentle management of the vineyard
For fertilization, large quantities of manure, straw and other organic humus substances are used. This almost eliminates mineral fertilization. By mulching the weeds in the vineyards, the farm also improves the humus content and soil life in the vineyards.
Only plant treatment agents are used that protect beneficial organisms. Thus, the balance is preserved in nature and you get the natural enemies of the pests. To reduce the yield, fewer fruit buds are cut during the winter cut.
Vinification
In our wine cellar brilliant Pinot Noir with a silky soft fragrance is created. The white wines of the winery convince by a harmonious acidity and pleasant fruitiness. This is not least the result of the particularly gentle processing in the wine cellar.
The grapes are completely destemmed before fermentation. This means they are processed without stem and stems. So the wine becomes tender and velvety. In addition, there is no heating of the grapes. The winery relies on traditional mash fermentation to preserve the typical expression of Ahr wines. One sets in the expansion on natural self-clarification. It takes a little longer, but it is gentler on the wines.
There are no fining agents used. This would remove minerals and other important wine ingredients. To give some wines stability, ground rock flour is used.
All wines are separated according to grape variety in oak barrels and the best red wines filled if possible without filtration on bottles.
Weingut Nelles
Göppinger Str. 13a
53474 Heimersheim
Tel: 02641/24349
info@weingut-nelles.de
Link to the wineyard: click here