Kastanienbusch Riesling GG 2024

A Riesling that starts out quiet. The nose seems shy, yet fine and elegant: greengages and mirabelle plums, grated apples, physalis and starfruit, alongside white tea, almond, thyme and calendula, plus a touch of pepper. The wine's depth is already apparent here.

The Kastanienbusch site lies west of Birkweiler on the edge of a natural basin that shields it from the cool winds off the Palatinate Forest. At 320 metres above sea level, it is the highest Grosses Gewächs site in the Südpfalz. The soil is defined by iron-rich Upper Rotliegend, with loose deposits of granite, schist and melaphyre; the slope runs 30 to 35 percent. Rebholz's parcels belong to the site's original plot.

Pure Riesling. After destemming, the must spent around 24 hours on the skins, followed by settling and natural sedimentation. Fermentation took place in stainless steel, after which the wine matured for six months on fine lees. Hansjörg Rebholz farms the Siebeldingen estate's top sites biodynamically and vinifies bone-dry.

Present, with depth of fruit: plenty of stone fruit, a touch of pome fruit, then grapefruit, kumquat and bitter orange with peel and zest. The acidity remains silky, the mineral tension carries the wine far, and the 12.0% ABV never draws attention to itself.

The estate farms 26 hectares across four soil types, from Rotliegend to shell limestone. The 2017 vintage of the Kastanienbusch Riesling GG received 100 points from Gault&Millau.