Mergelland

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The topsoil consists of loess, underlain by marl belonging to the Maastricht and Gulpen Formations, supplemented by local occurrences of old Meuse gravel and the Rupel, Tongeren, Holset and Hoogcruts Formations.
• Loess is a light soil type in which the silt fraction typically lies between 50 and 60%, the sand fraction between 20 and 30% and the clay fraction below 20%.
• Because of its airy structure loess warms up quickly but also cools down quickly again, which reinforces the diurnal temperature differences that are already greater due to the inland location.
• The slopes and the gravel provide sufficient drainage, which, combined with an average potential precipitation deficit of 100 mm during the growing season, causes on average a slight water deficit.
• The Mergelland lies fairly far north but, thanks to its geography and soil, has sufficient warmth for the grapes to reach full physiological ripeness without the sugar content rising so high that early picking is required.
• Only vineyards with a topsoil of loess belong to the delimited area, with areas having clay as topsoil excluded because of the great influence of loess on wine quality. (via Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0)

• Since 1970 commercial viticulture has once again been practised in the Mergelland, making the area regarded as the cradle of modern Dutch viticulture.
• The oldest evidence of viticulture in the Mergelland dates from 968 AD, and the Dutch-language Wikipedia also cites this oldest mention from 968.

• The wines from the Mergelland are characterised by a combination of fruitiness, fresh elegance and minerality arising from the interplay of variety selection, soil, geography and climate.

• The cool nights slow the breakdown of malic acid, so that at ripeness the wine still contains sufficient acids that give the wine freshness and play a role in aroma formation during fermentation.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in Netherlands

Sources

• Specification (EUR-Lex, single document)
• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-NL-02114
• Official trade body site — BOB Mergelland