DREISSIGACKER BECHTHEIMER RIESLING TROCKEN
Jochen Dreissigacker has caused a considerable stir both in his native Germany and abroad, winning high praise and points wherever his wines are sold. His 21 hectares of vineyards are based in the Rheinhessen, which is currently undergoing what might be termed a 'Rheinhessen revival', with Jochen at its forefront. From the 2010 vintage, Jochen's wines all have organic certification and he also uses biodynamic methods for much of his estate (although he has chosen not to be certified). He reduced the yields in the vineyard to gain better concentration of flavour in the grapes and identified the best parcels of vines which he vinifies separately. As expected of an organic estate, his approach in the cellar is as natural as possible. He uses only wild yeasts to ferment the must and harvests only fully ripe grapes (rather than chaptalising, or adding 'süss-reserve' to sweeten the wines after vinification for the Auslese styles).
Jochen's approach in the vineyard is simple: to intervene as little as possible. Low yields and careful selection ensures excellent fruit. The estate has 21 hectares under vine, 55% of which are Riesling. The best vineyard sites include Hasensprung, Geyersberg and Rosengarten, all within Bechteim village. Soil is made up of loess to the south and marl.
Autumn had a lot of sunshine and temperatures 3.8°C above average, which made up for a cold start to the year. In May, it rained three times more than normal, and after a cool spring, vegetation was delayed. July was mostly dry and the warm weather continued through to September, with top temperatures of 35°C in August. Rieslings benefited from the ideal autumn and display pronounced aromatic ripeness.
The grapes are harvested by hand and macerated for 48 hours. The juice was fermented with natural yeasts in 80% stainless steel tanks and 20% oak barrels for four weeks at temperatures of 16-18° C.
This wine is light yellow in colour with youthful reflections. The bouquet opens with slightly spicy aromas, ripe pineapple and peach. Good concentration on the palate with mineral notes on the long, refreshing finish.
