Beskrivelse
The wine is made from 100% Riesling grapes from one of the very best “Grand Cru” vineyards in the district, namely the Erste Lage VDP vineyard Nieder-Flörsheimer Frauenberg. The south-east facing slope on which the field is located is well protected from wind and rain from the west. Here you will find layers of calcareous marl and pure lime, with a high concentration of shellfish fossils at the top of the soil, and further down red sandstone cliffs. It is said that it is precisely the sandstone that helps give the Riesling wines from there their distinct mineral style.
The 28-year-old vines on the plot used for this wine receive a luxury treatment with almost half of the bunches being halved during the “green harvest” in July, and the leaves around the grapes being removed in mid-August to increase exposure to the sun. Just before the harvest in September, the rows are walked through and the poorly developed grapes on each bunch are manually removed. This results in an extremely low wine production of 30 h./ha., but in return an incredibly complex, aromatic and concentrated wine.
After destemming, the grapes are gently pressed and the must is fermented very slowly in classic, oval wooden barrels until mid-January. The wine is then matured on its lees (“sur lie”) until the end of June. The wine is bottled after natural sedimentation and without filtration.
Frauenberg Riesling has a beautiful, intense, golden color. The deep, rich and ethereal aroma gives nuances of ripe apricots, mirabelle plums, mango and grape as well as bold herbal notes in the background. The taste is meaty, mineral and velvety, but quickly develops towards fresher notes of citrus, lime blossom and a bit of mint. It is the concentration and minerality that win in the end. A great Riesling!
