Gimmeldinger Biengarten Sekt Brut Nature 2020

A single-varietal Riesling sparkling wine to which not a single gram of sugar was added after disgorgement: Brut Nature means no dosage. What remains is lemon zest, green apple and a cool minerality, carried by a fine, persistent bead. Nothing is softened, nothing is rounded off, and that is precisely where this sparkling wine's tension lies.

The Gimmeldinger Biengarten lies on the Mittelhaardt in the Palatinate, on soils of limestone and variegated sandstone. At night, cool air streams down from the Palatinate Forest, keeping the acidity in the grapes alert, that very freshness on which a sparkling wine of this cut depends.

Riesling, single-varietal. Behind this sparkling wine estate, founded in 2019, stand three people: Steffen Christmann, an eighth-generation winegrower and president of the VDP, his daughter Sophie Christmann, and Mathieu Kauffmann, who spent thirteen years as chef de cave at Bollinger. The grapes are hand-picked into 8-kilo crates, with a maximum of thirteen minutes passing from grape to press. Fermentation starts spontaneously in large wooden barrels, after which the sparkling wine rests on the lees for at least 31 months. No sulphur, no fining. In the vineyard, the estate works biodynamically, with a declared priority of terroir over technique.

Taut and precise, with vibrant acidity as its backbone and a saline depth that lets the finish run long and cool. The yeast notes remain a supporting element, lending texture without overshadowing the citrus profile.

With oysters and raw seafood, with sashimi and grilled prawns, as well as with smoked trout or char. Asparagus with a light sauce and chicken with lemon and herbs also work well. For something more rustic, try it with Palatinate Saumagen, whose richness the acidity cuts through.

Zero dosage, no sulphur added, no fining. Single-site sparkling wines from the Biengarten are intended for a lees ageing of five to eight years.