THE OF GERMANY A TASTING AT ROBERSON

THURSDAY JUNE 12TH 2008 WINES OF GERMANY THE WINES

Germany is home to some of the world’s most exciting and innovative produc- ers, working with noble grape varieties such as and to craft some of the greatest examples of cool climate . Producers featured at this evenings tasting will include:

Sekthaus-Solter (Rheingau): Their main passion is the Riesling grape hence 65% is Helmut Solter had, after his education in the French Cham- planted with the same. The annual production is 60,000. pagne, the vision of producing top class sparkling wines, Over the last 3 years the German trade press have taken following his French predecessors but in the German Rhe- a keen interest in the development of the and ingau. numerous medals have been won. Only a few unknown All methods follow the French original such as hand-pick- vintners offer such good quality hence great value for ing the grapes, them carefully and fermenting money. them in the bottle for at least 18 months. The other impor- tant detail of turning the bottles by hand gives the ‘Sekt’ St Urbanshof (-Saar-Ruwer): the final touch. After years of experience, the family Sol- Weingut St.Urbans-Hof is one of the largest privately held ter have achieved their dream of producing the German estate in the Mosel Region. It was founded in equivalent to French . 1947 by Nicolaus Weis. Since 1997 Nik Weis, the founder’s grandson is responsible for the . Dr Heger (Baden): His philosophy is to produce wines that fully reflect the The vineyard was founded in 1935 by Joachim Heger’s typical character of the vineyard site in which they are grandfather Dr. Max Heger whose previous profession grown, giving wine lovers a guarantee of origin in taste. was that of a country doctor but his passion for wine In his opinion, who own extra-ordinary vine- resulted in him purchasing some of the best slopes in the yards have the responsibility to bring out the authentic Kaiserstuhl area; Places like Ihringer Winklerberg and character of their site and their region. He feels that there Achkarrer Schlossburg where the climate is almost Medi- is something one could call ‘gout de Moselle’, a certain terranean. character in taste which the best wines of the region As the slopes are steeply terraced, the use of machiery is should have. almost impossible hence a lot of the work has to be done by hand. Bassermann-Jordan (Pfalz): 95% of the wines are fully fermented which results in clear This family estate was established in 1718 when the Jor- elegant wines with structure, longevity and complexity. dan family began the growing of fine quality wines. Of particular merit is the estates’ museum of old wines, going Göttelmann (Nahe): back to of 1706 and 1811. Almost undiscovered beyond the borders of Germany, Their 42 hectares is dedicated mainly to the Riesling Götz Blessing and his wife run this family estate in Muen- grape and are divided into 20 individual sites. Today ster - Sarmsheim since 1993. the estate is managed by Ulrich Mell and . Gunther Hauck. WINES OF GERMANY THE WINES

August Kesseler (Rheingau): Ernst only took over the winemaking on the death of his August Kesseler ran Schloss Reinhartshausen from 1992- father, when it appeared nobody else was willing to step 2000 and is no doubt responsible for the dramatic rise to in. He gave up his fi rst choice career in archaeology and immense popularity. has since thrown himself into the task of crafting great After inheriting the in the late seventies, he pio- wines with huge enthusiasm and success. neered the production of a breathtaking Pinot Noir, and the usage of Barrique, which he has now abandoned for Helmut Dönnhoff (Nahe): the sake of . Many would argue that the greatest of Germany’s These Pinot Noirs have cult status in Germany and fetch are now being made in the Nahe region. The best are high prices. marked by an opulent, rich, spicy character which brings His Rieslings are also very well renowned. August Kesseler Riesling lovers fl ocking to the region. Underneath they has vineyards in the top sites, such as Assmannhaeuser have a fi nely delineated acidity to support this richness, Hoellenberg, Ruedesheimer Berg Schlossberg, Bischofs- as well as a full structure with a greater presence in the berg, Berg Roseneck and Rottland. mouth than the fi ligree style that typifi es the Mosel. And leading the pack in the Nahe is Dönnhoff, who through Wirsching (Franken): this exalted position is logically regarded as perhaps the The Weingut Wirsching has been in the family since greatest winemaker in the country. Indeed, this is a title 1630, today in the 14th generation. With about 70 ha he was been awarded in the past. Dönnhoff makes a it is the biggest privately owned vineyard in the Franken bewildering array of superb wines, and even if you don’t and is managed by Dr. Heinrich Wirsching. The famous master them all it scarcely matters, such is the universal Iphöfer Lagen like Julius-Echter-Berg, Kronsberg and Kalb level of quality. are being cultivated environmentally-friendly. In the North & East the vines are being protected by mas- Wittmann (Rheinhessen): sive forests which helps creating the perfect micro The ownership of this 25 ha estate dates back to 1663. climate - necessary for outstanding wines. Under the management of Günter and Elisabeth Witt- mann organic farming was introduced and membership Ernst Loosen (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer): of the “Naturland Association” completed.The estate is Ernst Loosen runs one of the greatest estates of the Mosel, located in Westhofen not far from the river Rhine between which includes sites in Treppchen and Würzgarten, two the cities of Mainz and Worms, in the southern part of of the region’s greatest vineyards and both featured in the Rheinhessen. Philipp Wittmann, the talented son is re- tonight’s line-up. His style traditional – with a focus on sponsible for the outstanding work in the cellar. The best classic Riesling with piercing acidity, natural sweetness vineyard sites are “Morstein”, “Kirchspiel” and “Aulerde” and great balance. which are exclusively used for the production of classifi ed ‘Grand Crus’ (Grosses Gewächs).