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Visiting
German vineyards, part 2
Leitz, Rheingau
Eva Fricke (winemaker) and Johannes Leitz
In
recent years, two quality German estates have made a significant
impact on the UK, with listings in supermarkets and high-street
chains. The first of these, Dr Loosen, features later in this
series; the second, Leitz, was my first visit on this trip – and
by default, my first ever German vineyard visit.
Johannes
Leitz is based in the Rheingau, and most of his vineyards are dotted
around the town of Rüdesheim (above), which sits on the
Rhine. It’s a wide, busy river, with lots of large barges either
flying downstream, of chugging away slowly upstream against a strong
current. It was a gorgeous, bright May day, and it looked quite
beautiful.
We
began at the Bischoffsberg vineyard, which sits above the town on a
gentle slope. There’s a cable car that runs from the town to the
top of the slope, with the Niederwald monument (above), for
tourists – a nice touch. Apparently, Rüdesheim gets lots of
tourists every year. Neighbouring this vineyard is the Berg Rotland,
on the same slope, as it gently follows the river. Rosengarten is a
monopole vineyard in the middle of the town. It’s the oldest of
all, dating back to the 9th century.
Further
round, the slopes start getting steeper. The vineyards here were
reorganized in the 1970s and the terraces that you’d normally
expect on these sorts of slopes were removed, to be replaced by up
and down the slope row orientations. Berg Roseneck (above and
below) is an impressive amphitheatre-like vineyard with quartz
soils.
The
slopes here are getting so steep that spraying has to be done by
helicopter, and the vineyard holdings are indicated by markers –
for Leitz, red plastic indicates the limits of their blocks of
vines.
The
Schlossberg vineyard (above) overlooks the Ehrenfelz castle,
which dates back to the 11th century. This was the site
of a toll station in the river. A chain was used to block the
channel, which was then dropped once the toll had been paid. Soils
in Schlossberg are 30 cm of top soil, then slate, resulting in wines
with distinct minerality. Just above this vineyard, there’s some
remaining terracing: the Kaisersteinfelz vineyard.
Johannes
says that while they do have some older clones of Riesling, what
makes the real difference to the wines is older vines and good
vineyard work. Leitz own about 30 hectares of vines and rent another
10, but it wasn’t so long ago that Johannes started off with just
2.5 hectares.
About
50% of the wines are made in Trocken style (dry), and 50% in the
fruity (sweeter) style. The domestic market in Germany prefers the
Trocken style.
Leitz
use a combination of screwcap (with tin/saran liners) and natural
cork to seal their wines. Wines that are made in stainless steel
with cultured yeasts are sealed with screwcaps, while those made in
cask with natural yeasts are sealed with natural cork. Johannes says
they have never really had problems with cork.
Recent
vintages:
2008
was quite a difficult vintage, because it was cool, but it was a
good one. Harvest started on October 6 and finished on November 20
in normal conditions. Even when Riesling loses its leaves, the
grapes still develop. Even late November when the leaves are gone,
every good day is helpful. 2007 saw the earliest blooming ever, but
then a cold summer and a late harvest. 2006 was the hottest summer
ever in Germany, with higher potential alcohol levels and botrytis
everywhere.
Leitz
Eins-Zwei-Dry Riesling Qualitätswein Trocken 2008 Rheingau
Deep
sandy loam soils. 12% alcohol. Gently honeyed, taut lemony nose with
lovely fruitiness. The palate is broad and nicely fruited with
almost nutty, lemony fruit. Nicely balanced and fruity. 88/100
Leitz
Rüdesheimer Riesling Qualitätswein Trocken 2008 Rheingau
From
pure slate soils, 12% alcohol, 7 g/l residual sugar. Rounded, fruity
and fresh with lemony fruit and nice balance. Some minerality, good
purity and attractive fruit here. 88/100
Leitz
Rüdesheimer Bischofsberg Riesling Spätlese Trocken 2008 Rheingau
12%
alcohol. Very sweet honeyed nose, showing a ripe pear and melon
character. The palate is rich and concentrated with nice fruit:
sweet pear, apple, honey and lemon notes. Delicious. 90/100
Leitz
Rüdesheimer Berg Roseneck Riesling Qualitätswein Trocken 2008
Rheingau
11.5%
alcohol. Cask fermented and cork sealed. Lovely complex lemony,
minerally sweet lemon and pear fruit on the nose, which is
beautifully aromatic. The palate is complex and minerally with lime,
honey and melon notes. Rich, really complex and quite fine.
Beautiful. 93/100
Leitz
Rüdesheimer Berg Schlossberg Riesling Trocken Alte Reben 2008
Rheingau
12.5%
alcohol, 40 year old vines. Very fine honeyed, limey nose with some
minerality. Rich but complex. The palate is fine, elegant and
precise with lovely minerality under the limey fruit. It’s rich,
ripe and complex. An amazing wine. 94/100
Leitz
Rüdesheimer Berg Rottland Riesling Trocken Alte Reben 2008 Rheingau
From
60 year old vines. Lemony, honeyed nose with some flinty mineralic
notes. The palate is fruity and bright with honey, pear and
minerals. 91/100
Leitz
Rüdesheimer Riesling Kabinett 2008 Rheingau
Sweet
honeyed nose is ripe, melony and pure. The palate is fresh and limey
with lovely bright appley fruit. Crisp. 36 g/l rs, 8.5% alcohol.
88/100 (Tank sample)
Leitz
Rüdesheimer Kirchenpfad Riesling Kabinett Feinherb 2008 Rheingau
Feinherb
means off-dry. Bright, fresh and lemony, and quite dry, showing nice
precision and freshness. Light and expressive, with good acidity.
89/100
Leitz
Rüdesheimer Magdalenenkreuz Riesling Spätlese 2008 Rheingau
78
g/l rs. Rich and melony. Honeyed and fresh with nice precise apple
and melon fruit, and lovely minerality on the finish. 91/100
Leitz
Rüdesheimer Berg Roseneck Riesling Spätlese 2008 Rheingau
Expressive,
minerally nose is really fresh with some lime notes as well as
richer melony characters. The palate is complex and elegant, showing
lovely broad melon and peach notes, as well as fresh minerally
acidity. Broad, elegant and complex. 92/100
Leitz
Rüdesheimer Berg Schlossberg Riesling Spätlese 2008 Rheingau
Herby,
lemony, minerally nose. Fresh and fruity. The palate is rich and
full with nice rich melon and apricot fruit. Quite bold and rich
textured with lovely sweetness and intensity. 93/100
Leitz
Rüdesheimer Berg Rottland Goldkapsule Riesling Alte Reben Trocken
2008 Rheingau
12.5%
alcohol. Super-concentrated, intense, rich minerally pear and peach
notes with lovely depth of fruit. Incredibly rich but focused and
balanced. Brilliant stuff. 94/100
Leitz
Rüdesheimer Berg Rottland Goldkapsule Riesling Alte Reben Trocken
2007 Rheingau
Deep
yellow colour. Intense nose of herbs, minerals and nuts with some
bold, almost waxy lemony fruitiness, together with some greenness.
The palate is intense and complex with a dry character, and bold,
herby, waxy citrussy notes as well as nutty breadth. Real complexity
and depth here; quite savoury in style. 93/100
Leitz
Rüdesheimer Berg Schlossberg Riesling Auslese 2008 Rheingau
Super-intense
and viscous with lots of weight and depth. Lush and smooth with
melon/apricot character as well as some minerality on the finish.
Linear and pure with good intensity. 92/100
GERMANY
SERIES
 Part
1: Introduction
Part
2: Leitz, Rheingau
Part
3: Dönnhoff, Nahe
Part
4: Gunderloch, Rheinhessen
Part
5: Paul Furst, Franken
Part
6: Dr Loosen, Mosel
Wines
tasted as 05/09
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