Mineralstein Dry Riesling 2022

Gerd Stepp

Our personal love affair with dry Riesling has lain somewhat dormant professionally for many years, largely due to the distinct lack of really good South America examples (but do watch this space!). Then we met an old friend at London Wine Fair 2023 and an insatiable and undeniable itch was fortuitously scratched. It is wonderfully satisfying to have this wine in our portfolio and if the trade doesn’t lap it up with gusto, we will! Stylistically this dry Riesling sits at the ripe citrus end of the spectrum with only a gentle, youthful nod to the ’kerosene’ end, and it boasts fabulous mineral complexity, thus the name. Delicious nuances of zesty lime, peach and nectarine tantalise from nose to finish.

The grapes come from two vineyard sites in Herxheim am Berg and Bad Dürkheim. Here, on the gentle slopes of the Haardt mountains, the vineyard soil compositions vary between loess-loam with shell-limestone (Muschelkalk) in Herxheim am Berg – and the sites closer to Bad Dürkheim are rich in coloured sandstones. Vineyards on limestone are rather complicated to manage, because of their higher pH / calcium content and therefore the vineyard’s tendency to clorosis (vine stress) – but the wines produced are rich and have a complex structure with ripe yellow fruit notes.  Vineyards on coloured sandstone are less opulent in fruit notes but have a firmer more linear structure with a fresher acidity and a well-defined minerality. When blended together, as here, Gerd Stepp creates a complex yet nuanced style which is refreshing and bursting full of flavour.

Winner in the Wine Merchant top 100 – 2024