The small, extremely rare ferruginous vein that colours the soil in Nackenheim and Nierstein red and enriches it with mineral prehistory is the key to an unmistakable aroma. One that is captured in a natural and authentic way at the Kühling-Gillot winery.A cuvée - in the German understanding - is the deliberate combination of different grape varieties. It is a deliberate decision to blend something good into something even better: to understand the expressive power of the individual components and to recognise how they can complement, strengthen and support each other. Such a conscious connection can also produce great things on other levels. Carolin Spanier-Gillot and her husband Hans Oliver - H.O. for short - have also entered into such a connection. She, the oenologist, whose roots lie in the family vineyard Kühling-Gillot and have made her a nature person through and through. He, the sports enthusiast, who has also gone and continues to go his successful way in the wine world with the traditional family estate Battenfeld Spanier. Since 2006, the two wineries have merged organisationally as the Spanier-Gillot winery, based in the tranquil wine town of Bodenheim, but both continue to operate independently. What unites the two spouses and winery partners is their philosophy, their clear thinking for wine and their commitment to ecological and biodynamic cultivation of the 25 hectares of vineyards on the famous Rote Hang in Rheinhessen.
"Just as the grass doesn't grow faster if you pull on it, wines don't get better if you trim them to ripen quickly," is her motto. For this maxim, "the ecological cultivation of the vineyards is a basic prerequisite", the winemaker emphasises. The winery has been in her family for over 100 years. Since 1970, it has borne the current name Kühling-Gillot, named after Carolin's parents, the winemaking couple Gabi Kühling and Roland Gillot. Here, in the finest sites of the region, the porous red clay slate dominates, rising from the earth like a boulder near Nackenheim to disappear again underground a few kilometres south near Nierstein. The almost 300-million-year-old band of primary rock that rises to the surface makes it possible for unique wines to emerge. Wines made from the three predestined grape varieties Riesling - which makes up the lion's share with 75 % - and Chardonnay as well as Pinot Noir.
"We feel that we are stone wine producers. That means we try to bring the stone on which the vine has grown into the bottle," Carolin Spanier-Gillot once told us in an interview. The hand-picked grapes are fermented authentically and spontaneously. In the process, the wines are given the time and tranquillity they need to reveal their fullness. "For us, ripeness is a purification process." A kind of metamorphosis in the course of which the aromas of the grape, the site and the soil - the stone - come to the fore and transform into something unique. To wines that clearly reflect the aromatic footprint of the Rhine terraces and the slate soil - and live from finesse and vibrating density. It is hardly surprising that these great wines from the VDP member winery have won many awards - and that the winery is regularly voted one of the best in Germany.
We cordially invite you to discover this great winery with its 2021 Scheurebe Qvinterra at the wein.plus:club online tastings 'Spaziergang auf der Blumenwiese' in May 2023. Places available for wine professionals and private wine fans are very limited.
You can also purchase this wine from the wein.plus:find+buy listed online shops purchase.