Königsbacher IDIG Riesling Grosses Gewächs 2023

Powerful yet elegant and in perfect balance: that is how Steffen Christmann describes his Riesling ideal, the prima ballerina. The 2023 shows itself open from the start, cool and chalky, with scents of herbs giving way increasingly to flowers, alongside white-fleshed fruit, a blend of bergamot and lime that, with air, increasingly turns towards lemon, plus a touch of quince and apricot. A light reduction lies over the top.

The IDIG vineyard in Königsbach is the heart of the estate. First mentioned in the 14th century, it has remained undivided to this day: a four-hectare monopole, sloping steeply towards the south-southeast. Beneath a covering of terra fusca limestone scree mixed with variegated sandstone scree and basalt lies a massive limestone subsoil. The family acquired the then-neglected parcels in the 1990s and restored them meticulously; today it owns 95 percent of the classified area.

Pure Riesling, dry, with 12.0 percent alcohol. The juice spent a few hours on the skins, fermented spontaneously at a fairly warm temperature, and was then aged in a large 1,200-litre oak cask.

Lively, juicy, bright, stony and slightly zesty, here too unusually charming and open. With air the wine becomes electrifying, gaining firmness and great length, carried by salty minerality and the freshness and acidity of lemon. A wine of great concentration, wrapped in an airy, light-footed package.

The A. Christmann estate in Gimmeldingen has existed since 1798 and is run by Steffen Christmann, president of the VDP since 2007, together with his daughter Sophie. Across 17 hectares, only Riesling and Pinot grow, all in classified vineyards. Organic farming since 2002, biodynamic since 2003, certified under respekt-BIODYN and EU organic, using horn manure, horn silica and compost preparations.