‘Winery of the Year 2026’ - Vinum Magazine

It’s particularly gratifying when you meet a producer, fall head-over-heels for their wine, place an order and, as the wine is trundling its way across Europe, you discover that they have just been named ‘Winery of the Year’ by a leading wine magazine. It won’t make the wine taste any better when it arrives, but it makes us feel smug, and that’s what really matters.

We discovered Weingut Metzger in Germany in February. A group of young Pfalz producers had all chipped in to hire a space to show their latest releases and they each had a stand with two or three bottles to represent their estate. We were slightly nervous to approach Metzger, because the winemaker, Martin, stands at around 6 foot 7 inches on dry land, but his stand was already on a daïs, so he loomed over us like a WWF wrestler and our eyeline was roughly level with the bottom of his beard. We held our glasses out like Oliver Twist asking for more gruel and hoped he didn’t notice our hands trembling.

As it turned out, Martin was as gentle-mannered and softly-spoken as his wines – he clearly doesn’t crush his grapes by foot! Our quest in these encounters, much like simple origami, is twofold. First and foremost, to find something of great value for Vin Cognito customers, but also to get a sense of the winemaker’s integrity, which comes across more succinctly with eye contact and a few spoken words than any press release can ever convey. We were immediately convinced by Martin and the quality of the wines, with his Pinot Noir 'Mühlheim'2022 being the clear value bet at £26.95. If you love red Burgundy or great New Zealand Pinot Noir, then this represents terrific value by comparison.

It’s a beauty, swirling with sweet and sour cherry notes, wild strawberry, woody spices, kola, sandalwood and grated tangerine peel as a delectable grace note. The palate is full of bright, energetic fruit, with all of Pinot Noir’s charm on display. My hand-written tasting-note at the time helpfully says, “so drinkable!”, which is nothing more than the minimum requirement for any wine, but I kind of see what I meant, it’s just so succulent, ripe and juicy that it slips down incredibly easily. 13.5% alc. 50% new oak. Drink now-2034.

Press review:

Falstaff: “Dense and fragrant nose, smoke, light and dark wild berries, dark wild cherries, earthy notes, leaves, nougat chocolate. Powerful yet elegant on the palate, pithy, ripe tannins, fresh fruit, well-integrated juicy acidity, fine savouriness, stimulating to drink.” 91 points