Riesling Rocks

Rangen de Thann is the most southerly of the Alsace Grands Crus, and the quality of its wines have been documented as far back as the 12th century. Olivier Humbrecht MW's immaculate vineyard work and low yields mean this 2018 Riesling has exquisite concentration and minerality. The volcanic soil of this grand cru produces tension and power in the wine. It is reserved in its youth, but you can feel the coiled energy beneath the surface, as well as the density of the 2018 vintage. The south-facing site gets fairly warm during the day, but chills down quickly at night, so the freshness is beautifully maintained.

Eva Fricke is a superstar of the Rheingau, with her 13 hectare estate, that she only started in 2006. Not from winemaking stock - both her parents are doctors - she only discovered an interest in wine, and more specifically farming, when she did an internship at Buitenverwachting in South Africa at the age of 18. She’s worked at numerous top estates, from Château Cissac to Schloss Johannisberg, from Pingus to Castello di Verduno, before settling down as operations manager at Leitz from 2004 to 2011. Since then she’s been fully committed to her own project. She works with parcels of older vineyards across the region, and her 2019s have received incredible critical acclaim. From the vineyards around the village of Kiedrich, this is an elegant, finessed, beautifully balanced Riesling: the perfect way to discover her wines.

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.

In the beautiful Nahe region of Germany, Dönnhoff reigns supreme. Now run by the perfectionist Cornelius Dönnhoff, who’s fully taken over from his father Helmut, this charming, generous family makes it one of our favourite estates to visit, anywhere in the world. Spätlese might just be the most underrated of all Germany’s styles of wine: sweeter than the juicy, vibrant Kabinetts yet less sweet than the luscious, pudding-friendly Ausleses, it’s in danger of being lost. Yet this demonstrates exactly why it shouldn’t be overlooked. Juicy, pure, and oh-so-moreish, from one of the Nahe’s most historic vineyards that was named after a cherry tree, everyone should have a bottle or two of this in their cellar. And with a few years’ bottle age, it will be the perfect match for roast pork, or for Asian cooking.

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.