Notes from Bowler Wine:

"The grapes for this wine grow in two different sites –“Rothenpfad” and “Nonnengarten”. “Rothenpfad” is avery steep, south-east facing slope on the dMarienburg. The soil is light and consists mainly of soft, weathered red clay slate. “Nonnengarten” is located to the west of the Marienburg. The red slate dominates the soil here as well, but is more marbled and somewhat heavier. These two types complement each other perfectly and have formed the base for “vom roten Schiefer”, since the 2003 vintage. The grapes get handpicked at the end of October. They get pressed very gently, then ferment spontaneously in old “Fuder," and see a long maceration on the lees until bottling with minimal sulfur.
Rotenschiefer is more exotic, yellow-fruited and riper-tasting than the Grauenschiefer.

Clemens is the fifth generation winemaker at this estate (all the previous ones were also named Clemens; ever the iconoclast, he named his son Florian). Clemens started working in his father’s 2-hectare estate in 1975 and has spent his career expanding the acreage and breadth of his holdings to 18 hectares, almost all on the slopes of the Marienburg.

He stopped using herbicides in 1976, then in 1984 he and wife Rita converted to organics. They were among the first in Germany to commit to organic viticulture and led the movement establishing an association of organic growers in 1986. The estate converted to biodynamics entirely in 2005, earning certifications from the EU and Respekt-Biodyn. Clemens holds a permanent place in history as a role model and beacon of change among German winemakers."