Kastanienbusch Riesling GG 2021

A Riesling in a cool, precise style: fully dry-fermented, with no sweet cushion. The nose shows a herbal fragrance with verbena and lemon balm, joined by apple and apple skin, a touch of forest honey and subtle cassis and passion fruit. Nothing pushes forward, everything is there.

The Kastanienbusch vineyard lies west of Birkweiler at the edge of a basin, sheltered from the cool winds coming off the Pfälzer Wald forest. At 320 metres above sea level, it is the highest GG site in the Pfalz, with a slope of 30 to 35%. The subsoil consists of iron-rich Rotliegend with loose deposits of granite, slate and melaphyre. Ökonomierat Rebholz's plots belong to the original parcel of the site; Hansjörg Rebholz runs the estate in Siebeldingen, carrying on a heritage spanning four generations.

Riesling. The grapes were destemmed and left on the skins for around 24 hours. After clarification and natural sedimentation, the wine fermented in stainless steel and then rested for six months on fine lees. 12.5% vol., dry.

Juicy, fresh and youthful at first: on a base of lemon curd sit white blossom and pear and peach slices. The wine then gathers momentum, opens out and builds pressure, becoming smokier and stonier, firmer and more taut with air and warmth. Behind the apparent lightness lies immense depth.

Sea bass baked in a salt crust with rosemary and lemon sauce, pike with yellow carrots, pointed cabbage, aniseed and fresh sweet woodruff or risotto with spring leeks, parmesan and puffed rice.

Ökonomierat Rebholz farms 26 hectares across four soil types biodynamically, organic-certified since 2005 and a member of respekt-BIODYN since 2015. The 2017 vintage of the Kastanienbusch Riesling GG was awarded 100 points by Gault&Millau.