Furmint Auslese from the Ruster gravel

Vineyards near Rust

Furmint comes from the Tokaj region in northeastern Hungary, known for its sweet Aszú wines called Tokaji. The late ripening of the variety, the loose grapes with their thin-skinned berries and above all the susceptibility to noble rot (botrytis) make the variety very suitable for the production of sweet wines. However, Furmint also delivers first-class, fiery, full-bodied,

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Diel’s inspiring Riesling Kabinett


I wanted to get quinces from Hans. But of course Hans had a few wines up his sleeve to taste, including a Riesling Kabinett 2021 from Schlossgut Diel. I knew the winery from the dry wines, as it produces Große Gewächse from the three adjacent Große Lagen Pittermännchen, Goldloch and Burgberg. Despite their proximity, these large layers have very different soils. From the ferrous clay soils of the Burgberg interspersed with quartzite to the gold hole on gravelly primary rock soils to the Pittermännchen, where the grapes thrive on weathered slate above Rotliegend.

The winery also produces dry wines from its other sites, but the  noble sweet wines … Read more ...

Riesling Kabinett with a backbone

Uhlbach Hubert Pelikan Pixabay

The VDP.Grosse Lage® Götzenberg, from which the grapes for the tasted wine come, is located in a round basin in the Uhlbach district of Stuttgart, protected from north and east winds. The easily to warming sandstone reed floor of the site, as well as an often blowing warm, strong valley wind, enable the Riesling grapes growing there to ripen for a long time.

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Jakob Schneider’s Kabinett from porphyry

© Winery Jakob Schneider

My first encounter with the Jakob Schneider winery was enjoying its dry Riesling called Magnum. In consequence of this good experience I ordered a sample package of wine from the winery. The winery located on the wine growing region Nahe was founded in 1575 and has been family-owned ever since. Jakob Schneider Junior, who returned to his parents’ winery in 2007 after graduating from Geisenheim, is responsible for both the vineyard and the cellar work. Ten years later he was awarded Gault Millau as Aufsteiger des Jahres ( climber winemaker of the year) and currently has four Gault Millau grapes.

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