We aim to have all wines be vintage specific. In the case the listed vintage is out of stock and you note you would like that particular vintage, we will inform you via email for approval to go ahead.
About This Wine
For Johannes Hasselbach‘s “A piece of me”, he decided to push an imaginary reset-button and look back at how his grandparents made Riesling. The focus is on the grapes and he wants to use every part of them (e.g. long maceration time on fully crushed grapes up to 72 hours; minimal clarification; natural yeast fermentation; long time on lees) but he also wants to make sure not to lose or alter anything (no artificial yeasts; no fining; no aromatisation of any kind). 100% healthy fruit comes from young vines in the top site Nackenheimer Rothenberg, blended with grapes from a parcel of 35-year-old vines from Hipping in Nierstein to create a tautly strung wine with extraordinary aromatic expression.
Type | White Wine |
---|---|
Varietal(s) | Riesling |
Country | Germany |
Region | Rheinhessen |
Brand | Gunderloch |
Vintage | 2021 |
About German Wines
Germany is the world’s northernmost fine wine producing region and thus requires its vines to endure some of the coldest temperatures. Fortunately, the country’s star variety, Riesling, does well in cooler climates and can survive even these freezing winters.
Germany Riesling is classified by ripeness at harvest which is also used to indicate the wine’s level of residual sugar. Picking earlier means the grapes have less time to ripen and the corresponding wines will be on the drier side; while picking later gives the grapes the opportunity full ripen and produce a lusciously sweet Riesling. The classifications from driest to sweetest: Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese and Eiswein (ice wine). While not as common to age white wines outside of Chardonnay, top tier German Rieslings can be aged for decades.
Other notable white grape varieties produced in Germany include Müller-Thurgau (a cross between Riesling and Madelaine Royale in the search for varieties that could withstand the extreme temperatures), Grauburguner (Pinot Gris) and Weissburguner (Pinot Blanc). The cooler German climate leads to earlier harvesting in general and gives German wines a distinctive character of higher acidity.
Historically red wine has always been harder to produce in the German climate. However, Pinot Noir grown in slightly warmer pockets of the country, has been highly successful in recent times. Going by the German name, Spätburgunder, German Pinot Noir can be elegant, structured and have vibrant acidity.