Germany · Rheingau

Weingut Solveigs

A two-hectare organic Rheingau estate making only Spätburgunder, or Pinot Noir, from steep red-slate sites around Assmannshausen and Lorch.

The producer

Jens Heinemeyer bought Solveigs in 1995 and has kept its focus narrow: red wine only, from two hectares planted entirely to Rheingau Spätburgunder. The vineyards sit on pink and red Phyllite slate, with some slopes reaching a 70% gradient. Organic since 2013, the estate keeps parcel differences visible by pressing and vinifying each lot separately.

Fermentation runs for 14 days in open wooden vats with yeast from the grape skins, followed by oak ageing, natural settling and no fining or filtration. Micke, from the Mickeberg parcel, brings raspberry, cherry and dark forest berries with spice and smoke; its palate is dense, juicy and smooth, with fine tannin. Present shows darker fruit, light oak, acidity and a saline mineral finish.

Known for

Organic, parcel-by-parcel Rheingau Pinot Noir from steep Phyllite-slate sites.

Notable facts

The story

A Danish connection

In 2003, Jens Heinemeyer made his first visit to a Danish wine producer. He had bought Solveigs eight years earlier, in 1995, and was already making Pinot Noir from its Rheingau vineyards. After the Danish visit, he continued to follow the country’s wine development over the years. Danish wineries began consulting him, and the contacts grew from that first producer visit into an ongoing professional connection. The record of the episode is specific: a first visit in 2003, followed by sustained attention to Danish wine and consultations with numerous wineries there.

From the atlas

Weingut Solveigs

At A Glance

Weingut Solveigs is a two-hectare, organic Rheingau estate based in Geisenheim. Its vineyards lie in red-slate sites around Assmannshausen and Lorch, and every vine is Spätburgunder—the German name for Pinot Noir—so the range stays focused on one red grape and its different parcels.

The Producer

Jens Heinemeyer bought the property in 1995 and set it on a minimal-intervention course from the beginning. Solveigs makes red wine only, using Pinot Noir from its small holding; the narrow focus means a bottle name can point toward a particular parcel, vine age or vintage rather than a broad mixed-grape house style.

Place

Geisenheim is Solveigs’ base in the Rheingau, while Assmannshausen and Lorch identify the vineyard area supplying its Pinot Noir. Rheingau names the larger German wine region; Spätburgunder names the grape; parcel names such as Mickeberg narrow the origin further. Those distinctions matter in the glass because the wines are pressed and vinified parcel by parcel.

Soil And Site

The Pinot Noir roots grow in pink or red Phyllite slate, a fine-grained rock made from compressed and hardened clay and mud. Some sites rise at a 70% gradient, about 35 degrees, placing vines on sharply inclined ground. Slate and slope are the physical setting for a Pinot Noir programme whose bottles keep parcel differences intact through fermentation and ageing.

Story

When Heinemeyer acquired Solveigs in 1995, he chose a cellar approach built around biology and physics rather than added winemaking aids. The estate has kept that direction while concentrating its vineyards entirely on Spätburgunder, and organic certification followed in 2013. The result is a small red-wine estate where the same grape carries the effects of site, vine age and vintage from one bottling to the next.

Vineyards And Cellar

Organic farming is paired with a cellar routine that avoids added enzymes, commercial yeasts, fining agents and tartaric acid. Grapes ferment for 14 days in open wooden vats with yeast from the skins, then each parcel is pressed and vinified separately. Around 18 months in oak follows, with natural settling and two rackings rather than fining or filtration. Oak can bring smoke or light wood notes, but the method is designed to leave fruit, acidity and tannin shaped by the individual lot.

Wines

Solveigs’ documented names include Present, Micke, Phyllit and Steil, all within its Pinot Noir-only work. Present is a single-vineyard Pinot Noir; in 2018 it showed darker fruit and light oak, with a full-bodied palate, firm acidity and saline mineral notes through the finish. Micke comes from the Mickeberg parcel and moves toward raspberry, cherry and dark forest berries, with spice, smoke, nuts and chocolate around the fruit.

Micke spends about 28 months in barrel before further bottle ageing and is bottled unfiltered. Its dense but smooth palate and very fine tannin put it in a different register from the more saline, acidic description of Present. Phyllit and Steil are established names in the range, while the available material does not settle a fixed hierarchy among the bottles.

In The Glass

Expect Pinot Noir fruit rather than sweetness: raspberry and cherry in Micke, darker berries in Present, then spice, smoke or light oak as the wines open. Micke’s long barrel ageing accompanies a juicy, balanced texture and fine tannin, while the 2018 Present carried more body, marked acidity and a saline mineral thread. In both cases, acidity keeps the fruit moving across the palate; tannin supplies grip; the finish can carry mineral or oak-derived savoury detail rather than ending on simple ripe fruit.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with Micke Pinot Noir. It names the Mickeberg parcel and joins the estate’s central choices in one bottle: spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeast, no fining agents or enzymes, unfiltered bottling, long barrel ageing and further time in bottle. The taste description is concrete—raspberry, cherry, dark forest berries, spice and smoke—while the palate is dense, smooth and juicy, with fine tannin. It shows how Solveigs lets a single Pinot Noir parcel retain fruit and texture through extended ageing.

Anecdote

In 2003, Jens Heinemeyer made his first visit to a Danish wine producer. The visit began a long interest in Danish wine: he continued to follow its development in the years afterwards, and numerous Danish wineries later consulted him. The episode sits alongside his work at Solveigs, where he had already been making Pinot Noir since buying the estate in 1995. His connection with Danish producers grew from that first winery visit and became an ongoing part of his professional life.

Final Word

Solveigs offers Rheingau Pinot Noir at a small scale: two hectares, steep Phyllite slate, parcel-by-parcel vinification and long oak ageing. Look for the bottle name, then follow its fruit, acidity, tannin and savoury detail back to the parcel behind it.

Sources

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