Soft and fruity young; structured and barrel-aged in serious hands
Ageing
2–8 years
Serving
15–17 °C
Bred in 1955 to give German reds real colour, Dornfelder found its best home in the warm Pfalz. Most is drunk young, soft and juicy, brimming with blackberry and sour cherry — Germany's friendly, deep-hued everyday red. But ambitious growers give it barrel age and coax out genuine structure.
In a country long defined by its white grapes, Dornfelder is now firmly the second most-planted red, and the Pfalz is its showcase — proof that German red wine can be dark, ripe and serious.