Weissburgunder GG Monopol 2022 1500ml Magnum

A quiet wine that shows its greatness in length rather than volume. The texture is silky, with yellow pear, white blossom and a spice of wet stone. The Magnum format slows down maturation, and the wine gains depth over the years.

The monopole vineyard Wachenheimer Odinstal lies 350 metres above the Rhine valley, in a hollow enclosed by ten hectares of mixed forest. Across five hectares, basalt from the nearby Pechsteinkopf, shell limestone, Keuper marl and yellow variegated sandstone sit side by side, a legacy of the faults of the Rhine Rift. There are no winegrowing neighbours, and so no spray drift. The vines here ripen 20 days later than in the valley, giving the wines freshness and tension.

Pinot Blanc, known as Weissburgunder in the Palatinate, from this cool elevated site. Estate manager Andreas Schumann works in strict biodynamic practice, and the VDP estate has been Demeter-certified since 2013. In the cellar, non-intervention is the rule: spontaneous fermentation without temperature control, long lees ageing, minimal use of sulphur. The wine becomes as dry as it wants to be, and settles at 12.5% vol.

Bone dry, with a taut, cool line of acidity and a slender body. Quince and citrus zest carry through to a salty, long finish.

With pan-fried pike-perch in butter sauce, veal escalope and asparagus with hollandaise sauce. White poultry, young hard cheese and a vegetable terrine also work well, and the Magnum is enough for a large table.

A grand cru-style wine from a monopole vineyard, bottled in a 1500 ml Magnum. The "350 N.N." marking on the estate's labels refers to the vineyard's altitude.