Ziereisen Gutedel 104 Jaspis Alte Reben 2016

This 100pt Zieriesen Chasselas is grown on the high south-facing limestone slopes (inflected with jasper rocks) above the village of Effringen-Kirchen in the very south corner of Baden, only 8 km from Switzerland and France. On a clear day you can see Basel, the Jura, the Voges mountains and the south of Alsace.

These vines are mature and (and there are also some ancient vines in the plot) and there are 11,000 vines per ha (hence the name). Hanspeter says “I have to grow perfect grapes with no disease, low yields and good flavour concentration. Because I hate winemaking! If I grow grapes like this, then the winemaking is easy, the wines make themselves!”

This wine is an enigma, it’s deeply concentrated but also light on its’ feet, like the aroma and flavour of a great Meursault Perrieres or Leroy Corton Charlemagne, but the body of an elegant Chablis Grand Cru, like Blanchots from a cool but great vintage. This wine has a lot of reductive umami nuances (from the long and generous lees-ageing) with preserved lemon, fresh citrus, hints of hay-like Hunter Semillon character and some roasted cashews. The freshness, line and length are superb, the flavour finishing long after the wine has been swallowed. It has a proven track-record of ageability, and it can easily be savoured now, but a good decanting is recommended.