What is Rieslaner?
Rieslaner is a relatively young grape variety that was bred in 1921. The name already allows conclusions to be drawn about the "parents", because it is a cross between Riesling and Silvaner. Traditionally from Franconia, Rieslaner can now also be found in the Palatinate, but it is still a decidedly niche wine: only about 0.08% of the total wine-growing area in Germany is cultivated with Rieslaner, and even more: plantings outside of Germany are not known .
The Rieslaner is characterized by a high acidity, so that a long storage is necessary before it can be enjoyed. That's why we're only offering our Beerenauslese from 2019 now, in the 2022 season.
The acidity of the Rieslaner also ensures two special features: the filled bottles can be kept for decades and the fine acidity harmoniously balances the sweetness of this Beerenauslese. An exceptional niche wine that, in our opinion, will still make a name for itself!
Location of our Rieslaner
Our Rieslaner grows on the Palatinate vineyard called "Burrweiler Altenforst" on an area of only 1,093 square meters. The Rieslaner vine places high demands on the location (it must be sunny and dry), but few on the soil. Our slate soil is therefore ideal for cultivation: it provides a warm and dry basis, which is extremely important for the long maturing period in autumn.
The Burrweiler Altenforst is also our first vineyard to be fitted with an irrigation system. In this way, we can give the grapes some relief in particularly hot weather periods through economical drip irrigation and thus guarantee better quality of the grapes.
Processing of our Rieslaner
Rieslaner is a grape variety that is ideal for the Beeren and Trockenbeerenauslese. For this type of selection, the berries must be dehydrated on the vine. This means that the berries remain hanging until the status of Beerenauslese is reached. To do this, they must achieve an Oechsle degree of at least 110°oe. (The sugar content of the wine is defined by the Öchsle degree.) So it's an exciting race against time! At the end of October we check the berries every day to ensure that the timing is just right. If the conditions are not optimal, we cannot wait for the status for the Beerenauslese, but have to harvest the grapes immediately.
But when the right degree of Öchsle has been reached, the harvest begins immediately: we pick the grapes individually by hand and pay strict attention to quality. Due to the long waiting time, the yield is generally very low.
However, if autumn is wet and cold, the grapes rot on the vine and the berries can no longer be harvested. The year 2019 gave us an ideal (hot and dry) autumn for the Beerenauslese. Unfortunately, the wetter autumns of 2020 and 2021 did not allow a selection of berries to be made.
Due to the high level of sweetness and the very slow alcoholic fermentation, patience is required. We waited three years until we were proud to be able to sell our Rieslaner Beerenauslese for the first time in 2022.
taste
Our Beerenauslese is a small, fine drop. The tastefully mature, noble sweet wine rarity has a high acidity and thus finely balances the sweetness. This is why this dessert wine, which is often enjoyed as an aperitif or digestif, tastes very different from a grappa or a sherry. Since it is only 11% vol. it is also extremely light.
Its typical aromas are passion fruit, citrus and peach. Intense, aromatic and very powerful: a precious wine with a deep golden color to be savored slowly, sip by sip. A feeling like vacation in the south ... with sun in the glass.
limited edition
This wine is a real highlight for us, because it is the very first time that we are selling the Rieslan grape variety as a Beerenauslese. The yield is small: there are only 390 bottles!
The following reasons convinced us that it deserved a limited edition, in which each bottle is individually numbered:
- extremely rare grape variety
- rare harvest opportunity (last harvest 2019)
- high proportion of manual work (selective harvest)
- long maturation period after harvest (three years)
- great shelf life (can be kept in bottles for decades)
In short: Our Rieslaner Beerenauslese is a rarity for wine lovers, a premium wine for the highlights in life.
