2018 Hipping Riesling Grosses Gewächs, Gunderloch, Rheinhessen
Impressive depth and texture, very good length and ripe, and intense. Lovely orange blossom, blood orange, really open and lovely length. Very typical Riesling. Much more about fruit and texture. Lovely richness.
Johannes Hasselbach is making stunning wines from some of Rheinhessen’s best sites on the Roter Hang, the red slate slopes that overlook the river Rhine. Johannes took over the family domaine (which bears the name of its 1890 founder, Carl Gunderloch) a few years ago, with his father Fritz moving into the background, but remaining ever present to help and support his son. Sadly Fritz passed away in December 2016, but Johannes has continued the upward trajectory: these are stunning wines that offer incredible value for money. Grosses Gewächs are dry wines from the very top sites, and Hipping is one of Rheinhessen’s greatest - you may recognise it from the Keller portfolio, too, where the wines sell for many times the price. This is all about texture: it’s an utterly delicious dry Riesling, from a talented young winemaker.