Thörle Schlossberg Riesling, Rheinhessen This single vineyard wine comes from the Schlossberg Vineyard at Saulheim in the north-eastern sector of Rheinhessen, the largest of Germany’s 13 major wine-producing regions. The vineyard lies at an elevation of between 170 and 235m and is the coolest of Thörle’s three top sites. The deep clay and limestone soils effectively store heat and water. The amphitheatre-like Schlossberg has a unique microclimate, protected from winds by the surrounding hills, yet with a direct, tunnel-like connection to the Rhine which enables a constant supply of warm air to Schlossberg even on cold autumn days. Schlossberg Rieslings have finesse and are commonly mineral, delicate and earthy, with good acidity. They are Thörle’s most elegant wines. The Thörle family has been making wine at Saulheim in Germany's Rheinhessen region since the 16th century. Christoph Thörle and his brother Johannes have been running the estate since 2006. The vineyards are managed organically. These three flagships, single vineyard wines are naturally fermented, with some skin contact, 90% in stainless steel, 10% in barrel.

Biodynamic. Dry. In Alsace, the term Pinot Blanc is used to describe varietal wines or blends containing any percentage of Auxerrois. Weinbach’s Pinot Blanc is a blend of 70% Auxerrois and 30% Pinot Blanc. For fellow nerds, recent DNA studies indicate Auxerrois is a cross between Gouais Blanc and Pinot Noir. Weinbach’s blend comes from Clos des Capucins (with 45-year-old vines) and a plot from the limestone/clay soils at the foot of the Altenbourg vineyard. As with the dry Rieslings, the Pinot Blanc was pressed as whole bunches and raised over eight months in large-format wood (previous vintages were raised in tank). It's a far more layered and complex wine than you might expect from these varieties. It’s fleshy and mouth-filling with orchard fruits, white blossom and chamomile flavours and a textural core threaded through with punchy freshness. As with all these 2022s, it’s very hard to drink slowly!

Biodynamic. Eddy Faller explains that his Altenbourg Pinot Noir exhibits a more velvety structure than the Schlossberg-raised wine (below). To highlight each wine’s origins, the winemaking is almost identical, with a 10-day cold soak, followed by up to two weeks on skins, partial whole-bunch fermentation and extended aging in predominantly old oak. Plantings are 10,000 vines per hectare using mass selections from the Clos des Epeneaux in Pommard. To recycle Pigott’s line for the 2020 release, ‘In a blind tasting you could easily mistake this for a top 1er Cru wine from Beaune in Burgundy!’

J.J Prüms Goldkapsel bottlings are special selections that represent the very pinnacle of the estates wines. The Graacher Himmelreich Auslese Goldkapsel lives up to its name; incredibly intense and multi-layered it shows superlative balance, vibrancy and power with a unique energy and tension in the best years that is utterly awe inspiring. It has the concentration and structure to age gracefully for decades.

J.J Prüms Goldkapsel bottlings are special selections that represent the very pinnacle of the estates wines. Named of the sundial erected in the vineyard in 1842, Wehlener Sonnenuhr is the most famous vineyard in the Mosel. The Auslese Goldkapsel is at once ethereal and refined with superlative intensity and richness and multi-faceted complexity. Vivid and vibrant with profound depth, it has the structure and concentration to age gracefully over half a century.

Within Kiedrich’s Gräfenberg Grand Cru lies a small 0.5-hectare parcel once known as the Gräfenberg-Lay. Sitting in one of the steepest portions of the vineyard, the Lay is located at the transition between Gräfenberg and Turmberg and is known for having the highest concentration of phyllite slate on the hill. The vines here are now between 40 and 60 years old. This site was originally purchased by Dr Robert Weil in the 19th century, using the dowry from his marriage to Emilie von Vacano (a descendant of the Vacano family in Lombardy). The wine from this parcel, called Monte Vacano (the Hill of Vacano) was always produced and bottled alone. It was used only for celebratory occasions and never released for sale. Following Weil's death in 1921, the tradition of Monte Vacano fell dormant, and the fruit was incorporated into a regular Gräfenberg bottling. Compared to the Gräfenberg GG, Monte Vacano trades power and richness for exceptional purity, elegance and detail. Resurrecting the old custom, 2021 marks the fourth Riesling in a century made solely from this special lieu-dit. It was harvested in October, and the grapes were whole bunch-pressed into two ancient refurbished Stückfässer (1,200-litre casks) where the wine fermented wild and spent almost two years on lees before bottling.