Nackenheim Riesling trocken VDP Erste Lage 2023

A Riesling that initially holds its complexity in reserve. Mineral, smoky, still restrained in its youth – give it time and oxygen and it reveals juicy yellow fruit and a saline tension that carries the whole wine.

In Nackenheim, the massive clay-slate bank of the Roter Hang pushes up to the surface; a few kilometres further south, at Nierstein, it disappears underground again. Weathered Rotliegend shapes the wines here with smoky minerality. Kühling-Gillot now owns parcels in all the exciting sites of the Roter Hang, and following extensive replanting, it is precisely the vines in Nackenheim that have just reached the right age for a great wine.

Riesling. Aged in large old oak casks with extended lees contact. In the cellar, the estate works with spontaneous fermentation, minimal use of sulphur and no fining agents – accompanying rather than correcting.

Juicy and charming, it flows across the tongue, with saline notes underlying the lively fruit. On the nose, apricot, orange zest, a hint of ginger and countless meadow herbs stand alongside its stony character. A fine tannin lends structure and heightens expression, complexity and length. A wine that will reward further cellaring and calls for aromatic, intense cuisine.

Carolin Spanier-Gillot and Hans Oliver Spanier run two VDP estates under a biodynamic philosophy and have worked biodynamically since 2005: preparations 500 and 501 are used regularly, and lunar phases determine the rhythm of vineyard work.