10/26/26 - 

There are very few who are able to do what Lukas Hammelmann accomplishes year after year. His precision and excellence at crafting still Riesling, Chardonnay, Spätburgunder, and sparkling wines might be second to none. Each year we not so patiently anticipate the arrival of these stunning wines form the Pfalz that harness amazing energy, focus, and sense of place, and today the wait is over!

Lukas calls the town of Zeiskam home, this cold, flat, wind-swept Rhein basin of the Pfalz, and if this sounds a little lackluster, that's because this area of the region is actually more commonly home to potatoes and onions. After working in wine during the 2000s, Lukas decided to head home and created his own label in 2016. He started working 5 hectares organically (without certification) between Zeiskam and the neighboring village of Hochstadt. It has now been a few years of having Lukas' wines in New York, and the buzz just keeps growing. I am sure that once you try one (or all of his lineup) you will just keep coming back for more. 

As fantastic as every single wine is from Lukas, we have narrowed the selections down to some of our favorites! Featured today we have the second sparkling wine release from Lukas, and after tasting these you would think he has been making sekt for years! The new release of Spätburgunder Blanc de Noirs Brut Nature is from 2023 and is just beautiful, notes of bright red berries with a savory salty finish. This year also bring a special 2021 Spätburgunder Roter Berg Blanc de Noir Brut Nature that is a showstopper of a Sekt. It comes from a 1.7 hectare plot of selection massale vines in the Grand Cru Roter Berg. It is aged in second and third use barrique before bottling and was disgorged in March 2026. Only 600 bottles were made!

There are three fantastic Chardonnays, the village level 'Z', Roter Berg Grand Cru, and a 2023 R Late Release. The Z reminded me of a slightly more fruit driven Chablis, with bright acidity while the Roter Berg could have been cos playing as village Meursault. The 2023 R Late Release is incredibly limited as he chose the best barrel from a parcel of Chardonnay in Hambach and allowed it to age an additional year in bottle before release, this wine has incredible intensity and will continue to be a standout for years to come!

Next we have a duo of Spätburgunder, we have the rerelease of the 2023 vom Löss, with the 2023 vintage of Spätburgunder, Lukas decided to declassify the village level into this wine and it is just stunning with notes of cranberry and plum with incredible elegance and freshness. Alongside is a back vintage release of 2022 Dhochsaat Trocken an incredibly elegant finessed German Pinot Noir.

Rounding out this offer are three Rieslings, 2025 vom Löss Trocken which is bright, zippy, and just too easy to drink as well as two Grand Crus: Klostergarten and Wilhelm Friedrich! Klostergarten is one of the Grand Cru sites in Zeiskam and is cold and windswept with dense clay, the resulting wine contains a beautiful floral quality with ripe fruit lending for a powerful and bold Riesling with great intensity that is still very approachable. Lukas' top Riesling is his Wilhelm Friedrich, a wine dedicated to his grandfather. It comes from a site near Neustadt and is the most serious of the lineup with strong concentration, elegance, and a lot of focus. You don't want to miss this one!

The differentiation of H and Z on his village level wines show if the wine comes from Hochstadt or Zeiskam. Hochstadt is known for its limestone soils while Zeiskam contains sandstone with loess and loam. Villages and soils aside, the wines of Lukas Hammelmann are special. From an area of land that is known for potatoes and onions comes some of the best Riesling, Spätburgunder, Chardonnay, and Bubbles that Germany has to offer!

-Hanna Krilov Cohen

>>>VIEW THE WINES<<<