That quality is created in the vineyard is a truism, often attempted and mostly true - but not always and exclusively. 2010 was a vintage that also had to be mastered in the cellar. So it's no wonder that Rheinhessen in particular was able to cope with the conditions perfectly. In hardly any other German wine-growing region is the proportion of top estates in which young, highly trained winemakers are in charge as high as here.
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| Vineyards near Nierstein (Photo: DWI) |
The list of first-class 2010 Rieslings from Rheinhessen is long. In the Wonnegau, where Philipp Wittmann and Klaus Peter Keller have always fought out the top places among themselves in recent years, another relatively young winemaker, Hans Oliver Spanier (Weingut Battenfeld-Spanier), established himself at the absolute top in 2010 at the latest. The hitherto little-known sites of Hohen-Sülzener Kirchenstück, Nieder-Flörsheimer Frauenberg and Mölsheimer Zellerweg am Schwarzen Herrgott will also have to be remembered: Battenfeld-Spanier's Grosse Gewächse from these sites are all among the best that can be found in Germany this year. The immensely juicy and densely woven Kirchenstück is certainly the greatest wine the estate has produced so far and, together with the Rieslings from Brunnenhäuschen and Morstein by Wittmann, is at the top of the dry Rhine-Hessian Rieslings. The two Kirchspiele from Wittmann and Keller were hardly less impressive. Moreover, both wines do not seem to have reached the end of their potential. In the end, they could turn out to be the best Rieslings produced in Kirchspiel so far.
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| Vineyards near Worms (Photo: DWI) |
But not only the Wonnegau, also the Rhine front has great things to offer. And once again Hans Oliver Spanier is at the forefront, this time with Nackenheimer Rothenberg and Niersteiner Pettenthal from Kühling-Gillot, the winery for which Spanier has also been responsible since his marriage to Carolin Gillot. Another first-class Rothenberg comes from the Gunderloch winery, where Fritz Hasselbach is the only "old hand" to meet the young winemakers on equal terms. Even though both wines are definitely recognisable as Rothenberg, the Rieslings from Kühling-Gillot and Gunderloch differ considerably. While the version by H.O. Spanier's version has an extremely firm structure and a strong body, the Gunderloch version has an elegance and finesse that is quite clearly reminiscent of Mosel Rieslings. Kühling-Gillot's Ölberg as well as Gunderloch's Pettenthal and Klaus Peter Keller's Dalsheimer Hubacker were also excellent. The Rothenberg from the Staatliche Weinbaudomäne Oppenheim cannot quite keep up, but it is still the best dry Riesling we know from this state-owned winery and certainly deserves its status as a Großes Gewächs.
That leaves Rheinhessische Schweiz on the border with the Nahe growing region. Here, Daniel Wagner from the Wagner-Stempel winery lonely holds the fort. He, too, belongs to the young generation of top winegrowers in Rheinhessen and produces first-class Rieslings from the Siefersheim sites Höllberg and Heerkretz year after year. 2010 is one of the best vintages of his career, and his two Grosse Gewächse are hardly inferior to their magnificent counterparts from the previous year.
In Rheinhessen, a few Grosse Gewächse are also produced from Pinot Noir. So far, however, we have only tasted two wines from Gerhard Gutzler's 2009 vintage, which are quite respectable, but the oak seems to be getting in the way a little at the moment. At least with the wine from Brunnenhäuschen, we can imagine an improvement with a little bottle maturity. The two 2008 Pinot Noirs from Kühling-Gillot, which were also presented only this year, are really excellent. Already under Roland Gillot, magnificent and often astonishingly long-lived Spätburgunder were produced here, and the two 2008s from the Bodenheimer Burgweg and the Oppenheimer Burgweg follow in their very ripe and powerful style.
The currently tasted Great Growths of Rheinhessen in the wine guide: