Riesling Pettenthal GG 2018

A Riesling without embellishment: lean, taut, with great inner tension. The nose is driven by herbal spice, with fennel, anise and lemon thyme, followed by lemon zest, green mandarin, quince and vetiver over a distinctive spontaneous-fermentation note. Fragrant, almost ethereal, resting on a mineral foundation.

The Pettenthal lies on the Roter Hang in Nierstein, Rheinhessen, where reddish-brown Rotliegend clay slate defines the steep slopes. It is the estate's stoniest and most reticent site and, by experience, the one that takes the longest to open up. The vineyards are farmed according to dry-farming principles, with ripening deliberately slowed.

100 percent Riesling. Harvesting follows the estate's own golden cut principle: 90 to 100 days after flowering, over several passes, timed precisely to when the berry colour shifts from green to golden yellow. In the cellar, the grapes are foot-trodden and left on the skins for around a week before pressing. Mostly without settling, the must flows by gravity into large and half-size oak casks, ferments spontaneously and stays on full lees until bottling. 11.5 percent alcohol, dry.

The entry is cool and lean, before the wine builds uncompromising pressure. The ripe acidity runs vertically, giving it a sinewy, wiry frame; the youthful tannins are as fine as sandpaper, lending a savoury edge. Citrus-driven fruit layers in on top, carried by a fine salinity. Excellent ageing potential.

With vegetarian California rolls, king prawns in XO sauce or crispy pork belly with light miso, spring leek and shiitake.

The family has farmed its parcels on the Roter Hang since 1350 and still vinifies today in the estate's over 800-year-old wooden-cask cellar. Kai Schätzel has run the estate since 2008; it has been a VDP member since 2016 and Demeter-certified since 2023, with the Demeter logo featured on the label.