Riesling GG Himmelreich Herxheim 2024

A dry Riesling with a light body and an unusually high amount of aromatic extract. The ripe fruit doesn't take centre stage; it's held in shape by spicy, autumnal notes and austere phenolics. A wine that unfolds slowly, revealing new facets in the glass time and again.

The vines stand in the Herxheimer Himmelreich on tertiary limestone and loess, planted in 1978, 1983 and 1985. Odinstal leases the limestone sites in Herxheim am Berg; the estate itself spans 6.4 hectares of vineyard high above Wachenheim, surrounded by nutrient-poor meadows, mixed forest and an old basalt quarry.

Pure Riesling, harvested on 29 September 2024 and pressed directly. This is followed by spontaneous fermentation and a year of ageing on full lees in 600-litre casks, fully in keeping with the non-interventionist approach estate manager Andreas Schumann practises in the cellar. Bottled unfiltered, with 11.94% vol alcohol, 3.5 g/l residual sugar, 6.2 g/l total acidity and around 30 mg/l total sulphur.

On the nose, light tobacco, dried quince, cashews and green tea, joined by fully ripe peach, sea buckthorn, hop shoots and a touch of white nougat; the aromas shift in a constant flow. On the palate it flows with calm and balance, the soft fruit sitting in the extract, the finish warm, spicy and long, marked by dried fruit.

Total production is 1,866 bottles of 0.75 litres. Odinstal has farmed biodynamically since 2006 and has been Demeter certified since 2013; the Demeter logo appears on the label.