Black Tower resurgent with ‘premium’ range
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German wine brand Black Tower has announced plans to produce a new range of Special Release wines, coupled with a new bottle design for the brand.
Reh Kendermann, the brand’s owner, unveiled the new design for their flagship wine ‘Rivaner’ in February this year.
Black Tower, in the distinctive squat black bottle, was a staple of 1970s dinner parties. It dropped out of the national consciousness but has seldom been out of the top 20 best-selling wines in the UK.
In 2002 it enjoyed a renaissance when it was revealed to be the favourite wine of the housemates in a new reality TV show, Big Brother, and in 2008 it launched sparkling wine in a can.
The signature black roughened glass has now been replaced with a new style, incorporating clear glass at the bottom of the bottle.
All of the Black Tower premium wines will be released with the new black and white design, and will consist initially of three single varietal wines: Chardonnay, Riesling and Pinot Noir.
The Chardonnay and Riesling wines will be vinified from parcels of fruit in the Pfalz region in southwest Germany while the Pinot Noir is grown in Baden.
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Alison Flemming MW, export sales director for Reh Kendermann told decanter.com ‘The Special Release range is produced from carefully selected grapes from lower yielding vineyards to provide more concentrated and complex flavour.
‘These wines will particularly interest those consumers looking for a special wine at an affordable price level’, she added.
The company has revealed ‘one confirmed listing’ in the UK, but could not state it’s identity at present.
Nik Schritz, managing director of Reh Kendermann said ‘The word unique is often over-used and inaccurate, but Black Tower’s new pack design is exceptional.
‘Black Tower is now a multi-dimensional brand with its Classic range and new Special Release premium edition.’
The Black Tower premium range has a suggested retail selling price of £7.99 and will be available to consumers from May 2010.
Written by James Lawrence
James Lawrence is a freelance lifestyle journalist, copywriter and blogger, based in London. Aside from Decanter, he has written for The Drinks Business, Harpers Wine & Spirit, City AM and The Telegraph. His special interests are wine fraud, appellation systems the Asian wine market and Napa Valley producers. He writes a wine blog called The Wine Remedy.