“7 TERROIRS“ FROM GUT HERMANNSBERG – A GREAT ESTATE RIESLING
Gut Hermannsberg (Nahe) is launching a new VDP.Gutsriesling / Estate Riesling called „7 Terroirs“. The 2018 vintage wine uncompromisingly realizes the high quality potential of the Middle Nahe. With this innovation the important category of Estate Wines gains a new dimension.
TEN YEARS PREPARATION
Ten years ago Jens Reidel and Christine Dinse took over what is today Gut Hermannsberg. Winemaker Karsten Peter and his team transformed the cultivation of the vineyards, pulling the brakes on the vines’ vegetative growth, yields were reduced and year-to-year the quality of the wines – their depth and complexity – was increased.
All of Gut Hermannsberg’s vineyard sites are classified Grosse Lagen / “Grand Cru” by the VDP. There are 7 of them: the Kufpergrube and Felsenberg in Schlossböckelheim; the Hermannsberg, Steinberg and Klamm in Niederhausen; the Bastei in Traisen and the Rotenberg in Altenbamberg. 6 totally individual VDP Großes Gewächs (GG) are produced from them.
The GGs are the highest quality tier of dry wines produced at Gut Hermannsberg. One tier below lie the VDP Ortsweine / Village Wines: Vom Schiefer (Niederhausen) and Vom Vulkan (Schlossböckelheim).
SEVEN VDP GROSSE LAGEN / “GRAND CRU” IN ONE RIESLING
For Karsten Peter the moment has finally come to produce a VDP Gutswein / Estate Riesling that fully embodies his principles. The grapes for this wine come from the estate’s seven GG / “Grand Cru” vineyard sites, therefore it bears the name “7 Terroirs”. The premier 2018 vintage came primarily from young vines in those sites. The wine underwent wild fermentation and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork. “The remarkable thing about our Gutswein is that right from the beginning in the vineyard it was given the same care and attention as the GGs,” said estate director Achim Kirchner, “the only difference there lies in the age of the vines.”
ELEGANCE, POWER AND JUICINESS
Whoever tastes the wine will immediately understand what Kirchner means: the “7 Terroirs” dry Riesling clearly bears the signature of Karsten Peter. There is no hint of superficial fruitiness or standardized flavors. Instead, the wine is a serious and pure expression of the estate’s great vineyard sites. Its unmistakably shows the character from stony vineyards and marries the elegance and filigree of slate with the taut power of volcanic soils. This many-nuanced Riesling opens up more and more in the glass, its complex structure becoming ever more apparent. Its juiciness comes from the energy of young vines. The fine-grained texture gives it long aging potential and the natural cork also signals the potential to develop further in the bottle. All together, this is a wine that significantly raises the bar for Gutsriesling / Estate Riesling.