The Rheinhessen is Germany's largest wine region and encompasses both majority it of it's bulk wine production AND it's very finest wines, like those of Keller "The German Montrachet".
The Rheinhessen is Germany's largest wine region and encompasses both majority it of it's bulk wine production AND it's very finest wines, like those of Keller "The German Montrachet".
Gunderloch is one of it's other top estates, and thanks to the forward thinking, hard working Johannes Hasselbach, is only getting better. He's pulled the wines into the modern era, making them first in the vineyards, which have been practicing organic for more than 5 years.
His goals are lofty, from reducing residual sugar and alcohol, quite a feat in the new age of climate change, adding complexity with spontaneous fermentation, moving away from purely reductive techniques by incorporating used barrels with longer maturation and playing with skin contact.
Of course it helps to have a host of desirable vineyard sites with which to work from including "Roter Hang", Rheinhessen's notorious red slope vineyard, along with a host of other grand cru's including Rothenberg, Niersteiner Pettenthal and Niersteiner Hipping.
In the hands of Johannes these sites are able to produce wines that have gained notoriety for their exceptional balance, grace, and filigreed nuance.
