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Something BAD (sic), something new, and something a bit older (Ed- that’s feeble)

Marto Wein is the project of Marto Otto Wörner and Alanna Lagamba who make natural wine in the village of Flonheim, in Rheinhessenn, Germany. Marto took over his father’s 7 hectares vines in 2017 which has now expanded to 10 hectares. The focus is on wines made from indigenous grape varieties that give a true reflection of the vintage. Alanna hails from Canada and met Marto in a Berlin wine bar. 

And so to B.A.D.

B.A.D. is short for: BIG ASS DORNFELDER. And here is the cute explanation.

Fiendishly unfashionable Dornfelder is normally a very high yielding and low-in-sugar red variety, one of the first grapes to be harvested to avoid the dreaded suzuki fly. This vineyard, however, is an exception to that rule (at least in 2023). Sat around 300 m high (that’s high for Rheinhessen!), directly next to a church, on an exceptional, exposed site called the Weissberg (white mountain, all limestone), the vineyard soils are composed of Jura-type clay-limestone. This particular section has very little topsoil – meaning extra-tough conditions for the grapes. The Dornfelder was therefore extremely low yielding, and in 2023 there was such a big harvest that Alanna and Martin didn’t think that they would be able to pick properly, so they left the fruit hanging. Lo and behold, at the end of September, Martin happened to check the vines whilst they were harvesting Riesling nearby, and the grapes were still healthy. Being on a south-facing slope and receiving a lot of sun, these grapes had shrivelled into raisins, and they were able to harvest 1200-litre of their BIG ASS DORNFELDER. The name is based on the fact that they didn’t think it would ever be possible to harvest Dornfelder so ripe. 

The grapes were immediately 100% whole bunch pressed without maceration into a used 1200 litre barrel where the juice underwent ambient ferment with native yeasts and continued to age in the same vessel until after malolactic. The wine was bottled with filtration, fining and no sulphites. 

Such colour for a straight presser! Aromas of ripe blackberries, kirsch and bruised black plums, not dissimilar to super-ripe Gamay. Be bad to yourself and try it!

If that’s the B.A.D. news, how about good news of a continental coastal blend. Flonheim-by-the-sea? Perhaps a discernible absence of candyfloss and penny arcades (is that a thing still?) and seagulls squawking for your chips, but you can positively inhale the salinity in spades from this here Marto Cote de Flon. The village of Flonheim used to be on the coast in prehistoric times, hence the cheeky nod in the name.

Another blend, this time of Riesling, Silvaner, Pinot Blanc & Pinot Noir (straight-pressed), By the way,  Alanna and Martin have abandoned red wines for the time being hence white Pinot is making its way into several wines. Whole cluster bunches fed into and fermented in stainless steel and then moved into used 500 litre and 2400 litre barrels to do malo.

A mouthful of freshness, citrus pith and skin. Perfect with oysters, or on the Cote de Flon, cured river fish.

Then there is also the less crazy-crazy and more detailed side of the Marto enterprise. Take their Pinot Gris Reserve (2022 vintage) from a single vineyard rich in limestone. The grapes are whole bunch straight pressed into 1,200 litre used barrels, slowly fermented with their own yeasts, and aged on lees for two years without disturbance. No filtration, no fining, and no sulphites added whatsoever.

A brilliant wine! More just-ripe pears and apples than full-throttle fleshy fruit and beautiful energy with a seam of limey acidity coursing across the palate.

2023 Marto B.A.D.

2o23 Marto Cote de Flon

2022 Marto Pinot Gris Reserve

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Interested in finding out more about Marto’s wines? Contact us directly:

shop@lescaves.co.uk |  sales@lescaves.co.uk | 01483 538820