Jamie Goode and Treve
Ring explore Sekt, Germany's sparkling wine
Part 5: Strauch Sektmanufaktur
Strauch, in the Rheinhessen, is a relatively new sparkling wine
producer. Isabelle and Tim Weissbach are the young couple behind
this quality venture, which debuted in 2011, in the cellar of what
was previously the Sektellerei Dalbergerhof. Tim showed us the
impressive disgorging and bottling line that they brought from
Champagne, which is much bigger and better than they really need,
but they see it as an investment for the future.
‘We
don’t want to copy Champagne but we take it as a benchmark,’ says
Tim. ‘They have the best marketing: it is unbelievable – everyone
wants to drink Champagne. But 100 years ago Sekt was in that
position, and all the big houses in Champagne had German influence.
We brought the knowledge to Champagne.’
They
are specialists, so as well as making their own wines, they pay the
bills by taking others’ base wines and transforming them into Sekt.
‘We are lucky making sparkling wine for other wineries because we
have good contact with other wineries and have the chance to taste a
lot of good stuff,’ says Tim. Their own wines are made from their 25
hectares of estate-grown grapes, and Strauch is fully organic.
Tim
thinks it’s important to focus on Sekt if you want to make the best
quality wines. ‘When we decided to focus on sparkling wine, we
decided to pick and press only for this goal. There was a huge step
up in quality,’ says Tim. ‘Most people who make sparkling wine make
all their wines, then they decide in February which wines to use for
sparkling wine. You see a big difference between the wineries who
focus on Sekt and those who just make a bit.’
Tim is
keen on Riesling. ‘For me Riesling is perfect for sparkling wine.
You have the acidity and the typical aromas of Riesling. The
Chardonnays and Pinots ripen early while the Riesling ripens later.
It works. For me it is fantastic. We sell sparkling Riesling like
crazy.’ The winery also makes a Brut Nature Riesling Sekt that was
sold out when we visited, but a style that Tim plans on making more
of.
He
thinks that more wineries in Germany should focus on Sekt. At the
moment there are around 10. But he acknowledges that it isn’t an
easy course to take. ‘There is a huge amount of money involved and
it is high risk. You don’t see your money for three years.’
Goode
Notes
Strauch Riesling Extra Brut 40 Monate NV Rheinhessen, Germany
2.7 g/l sugar. 2012 vintage. Very tight and fresh with amazing
purity and focus. Great acidity here with nice purity and grippy
lemony fruit. Lemony and detailed with lovely precision. 92/100
Strauch Pinot Blanc NV Rheinhessen, Germany
2014 vintage. 5 g/litre dosage. Stainless steel ageing for five
months. Fresh, lemony and bright with keen acidity. A hint of apple
alongside the bright lemon and grapefruit characters. Fresh, focused
and intense with a lovely bright acid core. Linear. 91/100
Strauch Blanc de Blancs NV Rheinhessen,
Germany
Vintage 2013. Silvaner and Chardonnay, both aged in large wood
for 9 months. Sold after 18 months. Really distinctive and slightly
herbal with a rounded apple, pear and citrus character. Bright with
high acidity and nice focus. Fruity and appley with lovely juicy
fruitiness. Quite mineral on the finish. Distinctive. 90/100
Strauch Riesling Brut NV Rheinhessen, Germany
Tim says that this is selling like crazy. Stainless steel-aged.
Bottled in January and sold 15 months later. Very crisp, focused and
fruity. Lemony and bright with vivid acidity. Very fresh and
delightful with lovely lemony fruit the core. So drinkable and fresh
with real precision. Captures Riesling beautifully. 90/100
Strauch Rosé Brut NV Rheinhessen, Germany
Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. Red wine blended in at
dosage. Want to have the phenols in the wine for as short as time as
possible. Very pale pink. Fresh, linear apples and cherries with
fresh cherries and a bit of spiciness. Has some tangerine and pear
and apple. Lovely balance with some distinctive fruitiness. Great
acidity. Very detailed and fine. 91/100
Strauch Der Michelsberg 2011 Rheinhessen, Germany
A one-hectare clos vineyard on a small hill, with small house on
the top giving a view from Mannheim to Frankfurt. Old vine Riesling
and Gewürztraminer, half and half this year. Very fruity and lively
with grapes, lychees, spice and herbs. Complex, refined and detailed
with nice precision and weight. Lovely fruit here: so distinctive
and delicious with great balance. Very fine. 92/100
Strauch Cuvée Isabel Demi Sec NV Rheinhessen, Germany
38 g/l dosage. A blend of Morio Muskat, Scheurebe, Bacchus and
Gewurztraminer. Very fruity and grapey with lovely ripe, sweet
fruit. Generous and pure with good acidity. Grapey and delicious.
Clean and pure with good balance. 89/100
Strauch Cuvée Marie-Christin Doux NV Rheinhessen, Germany
55 g/l dosage. Very rich and fresh with delicious grape and
apricot fruit. Clean, ripe and tasty with lovely sweetness to the
fruit. Quite rounded and delicious in a very sweet style. 88/100
Ring
Notes
Strauch
Riesling Extra Brut 40 Monate NV Rheinhessen, Germany
40 months on the lees, from the 2012 vintage. Crisp and fresh, with
great drive and length. Fine grippy persistence throughout, with
lime and white grapefruit pith. No MLF, leaving this Riesling very
pure. 2.7 g/l. 91/100
Strauch
Pinot Blanc NV Rheinhessen, Germany
From the 2014 vintage, in stainless steel on lees for 5 months. Full
MLF, resulting in an easy, lighter drinking bubble, with gentle pear
skin, fine white blossom. Still carries a firm line of acidity to a
tight riff of pithy citrus on the finish. Lively. 5 g/l. 89/100
Strauch Blanc de Blancs Brut NV
Rheinhessen, Germany
2013 vintage. Light cream, fine white florals is broken with
crystalline lemon, red apple and light herbal notes. Chardonnay and
Silvaner is aged in 2500 L wooden barrels for 9 months. Rounded on
the palate, but carries fine and bright acidity. 90/100
Strauch
Riesling Brut NV Rheinhessen, Germany
The "cash cow", and a very good seller. All stainless steel, bottled
in January following vintage and sold 15 months later. Bright, fresh
and fruity, with zippy and zesty lime, lemon, and sherbet. Fine line
of vibrant acidity to the finish, rings with Riesling. 89/100
Strauch
Rosé Brut NV Rheinhessen, Germany
Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, with the red wines blended
after the bottle fermentation of Chardonnay (at dosage). Light
cherry, roses and perfumed florals are interwoven with quite earthy,
mushroom and savoury notes. Broken stones and fine spicing texture
the whole. Very fine and precise, but with depth of flavour. Well
done. 91/100
Strauch
Der Michelsberg 2011 Rheinhessen, Germany
From a one-hectare clos - Der Michelsberg - in the next town over,
this is their premium bottling and comes with booklet and box.
Highly perfumed lime oil, gooseberry lead this aromatic 50/50
Riesling/Gewurztraminer split (50-60 year old vines) before
finishing with finely pithy pink grapefruit and perfumed spices. The
finish comes across with bitter lime. There is a disjoint between
the floral / fruitiness and weight of Gew, and Riesling’s crisp line
of acidity and gossamer nature. 88/100
Strauch
Cuvée Isabel Demi Sec NV Rheinhessen, Germany
Named for Tim's wife. Very perfumed gooseberry, lime throughout this
ripe, sweet blend of Morio Muscat, Gewurztraminer, Bacchus and
Scheurebe. Finishes bright and with light, youthful sweetness. The
dosage is a sweet Gewurztraminer, at 38 g/l. 88/100
Strauch
Cuvée Marie-Christin Doux NV Rheinhessen, Germany
55 g/l dosage of Siegerrebe. Very weet and ripe, with peach, light
anise and lime through the finish. Love the brightness and fresh
acidity here, through to the lively, fine finish. The winery has
decided to cease production of this wine due to low demand for Doux
styles. 89/100
EXPLORING SEKT
Wines
tasted 09/16
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