Riesling Rocks

Riesling may not be the first grape variety you’d expect to find in the rolling hills of the Langhe. But Aldo Vajra was fascinated by the grape variety while at university, and decided to try his hand at making a few bottles of the grape, planting his first vineyard in 1985. Now made from a blend of clones from Alsace, Geisenheim, and the Pfalz, from two separate vineyards, one of which is the legendary Barolo vineyard of Fossati, this is a taut yet generous dry Riesling which, like the Nebbiolos of the region will require patience to show its very best.

Eva Fricke is one of our favourite producers, from anywhere in the world. So when she agreed to bottle a dry Rheingau Riesling exclusively for us, we jumped at the chance. This comes from vineyards across the Rheingau, from the 2019 vintage - a year when Eva’s top wines have received a number of 100 point scores. It’s fresh, zesty, and utterly delicious, and we’re incredibly proud to put our name to it, alongside Eva’s.

Hans-Joachim (“Hanno”) and his wife Ruth Zilliken mark the tenth generation to make wine predominantly around their famed Saarburger Rausch vineyard, and they’ve now been joined by their daughter, Dorothee. They barrel ferment all of their wines using natural yeasts and traditional “moselfuder casks”, some of which are more than a half-century old. With long, cool fermentations allowing complex flavours to emerge slowly, these are Rieslings to age with the very best. For many, the sweet Auslese category is where German Riesling reaches its pinnacle, with incredible complexity and longevity, and remarkable acidity balancing that ripeness. This is the perfect example: a wine that wows with its explosive fruit yet stunning freshness.

Situated at the far western end of the Wachau, where the wines tend to be cooler and more mineral, Weingut Franz Hirtzberger crafts some of the most viscerally thrilling white wines that we’ve come across. Franz himself is a perfectionist, and his wines show remarkable balance of fruit and vibrant acidity. While he’s best known for the legendary Singerriedel vineyard, we think the Hochrain is the hidden gem of the range. It’s a wine of opulent fruit and chiselled acidity, that will drink beautifully right away, but that will age spectacularly.

A really beautiful nose on the 2019 Gaisberg, that comes from some of the winery’s oldest vineyards. This is sometimes called the baby Heliginstein, due to the similarities in terroir. The palate is so intense and concentrated, but with a lightness of touch about it. Notes of honeysuckle and pure lemon oil last for minutes. Bravo.