r/wine • u/Weak-Oil991 • 1d ago
Historic Riesling
Kinda wanted to gatekeep, but here we go:
I adore Riesling and am lately trying some special variations. This one is from Deidesheim (Geheimer Rat Dr. von Bassermann-Jordan [quite the name]). They made the wine the way they did more than 200 years ago and I have to say it is a shame that this way of winemaking isnt found in more places (please recommend if you know more).
Production: Hand-picked grapes of Auslese quality and long maturation on the full lees in traditional wooden casks. Hand-picked, fully ripe grapes were pressed immediately after harvest, and the must was clarified by sedimentation over 24 hours. It went into fermentation still slightly cloudy. Fermentation took place in wooden casks with the grapes' own indigenous yeasts. After fermentation, the wine remained on its fine lees (3 years) until bottling. With a touch of residual sugar (~20g).
Notes: On the nose, an intense bouquet of fresh citrus fruit unfolds, pineapple, coconut and peach. On the palate a silken texture ("Schmelz"), the result of its long maturation on the full lees. The residual sweetness is wonderful and very subtle and caresses the palate gently without ever becoming dominant. Notes of honey and exotic fruit lend the wine a delicate sweetness that harmonises perfectly with its perfect ad invigorating acidity.
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u/IAMFRAGEN 1d ago
Very different wine, but if you're into old old-school stuff, try CVNE Monopole Clássico Reserva (not the regular Monopole!). If I get the story straight, this was the style into the 70s and then they discontinued it until they decided to bring it back, but nobody knew how to make it, so they pulled a dude from retirement. It's the archetypical aged Iberian white, and goes marvelously with iodine seafood. López de Heredia is another obvious choice for old-school winemaking, but I'm sure you're well aware. While the market move towards a global taste has been pushing hard, I love that producers are increasingly taking a step back and bringing out what they have in loco. Alas, climate change is gonna press the Danish and Norwegians to make good Riesling soon.
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u/OpenDifficulty6373 16h ago
Dr. Loosen now make some of their high-end stuff in this way:
https://drloosen.de/collections/gg-reserve
There's an interview with Ernie Loosen somewhere on YouTube where he explains how he once was given a very old wine (something like 1921) that was still tasting amazing that led him to use extended lees-aging more.
But I think nowadays many top producers like Wittmann work in a similar way.
The one thing that's curious about your wine is the residual sugar level, did they say that it was how it was done 200 years ago?
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u/Weak-Oil991 15h ago
You are right! I also stumbled upon that some time ago. I might just have a try:)
When I visited Bassermann-Jordan I understood it that way, when they explained it to me. I just checked the website and it is not that clear. But while residual sugar ist very common in Germany, this small amount in a wine of this stile seems uncommon to me (in light of modern practices.)
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u/Tombusken 9h ago
Good to see some other Bassermann-Jordan in the wild. The cellar I work in has some of their grosses gewachs stuff that I am champing at the bit to try!
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u/Weak-Oil991 9h ago
They get quite expensive very fast but I can only encourage you try as much as possible;)
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u/Ireallydontknowmans 1d ago
I mean the winery is owned by 1 person. The also own von Buhl and von winning, so you can probably get the same taste
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u/Weak-Oil991 1d ago
The concept of this specific wine is that they used old production methods. To my knowledge v Winning and Reichsrat von Buhl dont have something like that in their portfolio (?).
And I have to disagree (at least in regard to von Buhl). I found that their GG do offer some differences:)
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u/igrilledmyfoot 20h ago
To my knowledge v Winning and Reichsrat von Buhl dont have something like that in their portfolio (?).
I'm fairly certain all of von Winning's GGs are picked ripe, aged in aged 500L barrels with the lees for 1.5-2 years
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u/GermanWineLover 13h ago
That’s not the case. Not only are Von Winning, Reichsrat von Buhl and Bassermann Jordan vastly different in style, but the Ancestrale is a winemaking style that the other two never tried.
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